''India, Pak should engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve their issues''

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 19

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday hoped that India and Pakistan would engage in a “meaningful dialogue” to resolve their issues.

Addressing a press conference in New York, he was asked about the human rights situation in Kashmir and frosty ties between New Delhi and Islamabad. In response Guterres said, “Well, first of all, in relation to the human rights situation, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has produced recently a very detailed report. So, the UN has clearly done its job in that regard.”

He was referring to a recent first-of-its-kind scathing Human Rights report on Kashmir that blamed India and Pakistan for alleged atrocities. India had rejected the report as politically motivated, while Guterres during his first official visit to India in October 2018 after assuming the UN top post had simply stated that the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner is under the UN aegis but has autonomy.

On the India-Pak dialogue process, the Secretary-General said that his office is available for facilitating good ties between the two neighbours.

“I’ve been offering my good offices in relation to the dialogue between the two countries that, until now, had no conditions of success. And I hope that the importance of both India and Pakistan is such in international affairs, I hope that the two countries will be able to engage in a meaningful dialogue,” said the UN Secretary-General.

Indian principled position is that Kashmir is a bilateral issue with Pakistan with no scope for any third-party role or mediation.