UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres plans to raise the Kashmir issue during his discussions with various leaders attending the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, his spokesman has said.“On Kashmir, the Secretary-General said previously he remains engaged,” Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at his regular briefing at the UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday in response to a question about the communications blockade in Indian-occupied Kashmir.“I think he will also use the opportunity of discussions during the General Assembly to raise it,” he added, without specifically naming the leaders the UN chief would talk to about the situation in the disputed territory.The heightened attention on occupied Kashmir comes after India on August 5 revoked a constitutional article which granted the disputed territory a limited autonomy. Since then, New Delhi has flooded the Kashmir valley with thousands of troops and instituted a strict lockdown and communications blackout. Sporadic protests do take place, though not much information comes out of the restive Himalayan region.Both Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are scheduled to participate in the 193-member Assembly session, which opens its high-level dialogue next week.The spokesman also said: “He (Guterres) has also underscored the need for dialogue as the only way to resolve the issue and as part of the solution for the current crisis in Kashmir (and) to make sure that the human rights aspects are very much dealt with as well.”Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump was set to meet with both prime ministers — Modi and Khan — during his many engagements on the sidelines of the General Assembly in the same week.Prime Minister Khan will lead the Pakistan delegation during the UN General Assembly session in New York from September 21 to 27, the Foreign Office said in a statement on Friday.The Prime Minister will deliver his address to the UN General Assembly on September 27, and share Pakistan’s perspective and position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and its current human rights and related dimensions.He will also avail the opportunity to articulate Pakistan’s perspective on some key contemporary issues. Overall, the centrality of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute would be emphasised through myriad engagements, the statement added.Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will also attend the session, interact with his counterparts from various countries, and address important ministerial meetings especially the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir.According to the Foreign Office statement, the Prime Minister will hold several bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various regions and participate in high-level UN summits on climate change, sustainable development, universal health coverage and financing for development.He will also attend and speak at high-level side events co-hosted by Pakistan and Turkey on countering hate speech and on environmental protection and poverty alleviation, co-hosted by Malaysia and Pakistan.A trilateral summit meeting of Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey will be held on the General Assembly sidelines. Apart from these engagements, the Prime Minister will interact with cross-section of international media outlets including meetings with editorial boards.Khan’s speaking engagements at leading think-tanks and meetings with heads of major international human rights organisations are also envisaged. Pakistan has always been a strong advocate of and one of the leading contributors to the United Nations work in the areas of peace, security and development.
09-21-2019, 09:47 AM
Guterres to raise Kashmir with world leaders at UNGA
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