Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan urged the UN to fulfil its commitments with the people of Kashmir and help them achieve right of self-determination as he met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. During his meeting with the UN Secretary-General, Khan highlighted the 'dire human rights and humanitarian situation' in Jammu and Kashmir following India's August 5 decision to end the special status of the region.
'The Prime Minister underscored that the Kashmiri people continued to look to the United Nations to honour its commitments for the realisation of their right to self-determination, as enshrined in numerous UN Security Council resolutions,' Khan's office said in a statement.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after New Delhi ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year. India's decision evoked strong reactions from Pakistan, which downgraded its diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian envoy. India has defended its move, saying the special status provisions only gave rise to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
'The country took the decision of abrogation of Article 370, which had only given separatism and terrorism to that state,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in October last year. India has rejected any third party intervention to the Kashmir issue and has maintained that all outstanding matters in Indo-Pak ties should be resolved bilaterally.
Khan claimed that India's belligerent rhetoric, intensified ceasefire violations on the LoC, and other aggressive actions were imperiling peace and security in the region, the statement said. He also highlighted the possibility of a false flag operation by India to divert global attention from its 'unacceptable actions' in Kashmir, it said.
Talking about Afghanistan, Khan underscored that there was no military solution to the Afghan conflict and reaffirmed Pakistan's steadfast support for peace and reconciliation in the war-torn country. Khan also highlighted Pakistan's generosity in hosting millions of Afghan refugees for the last four decades, the statement said.
