“I stand ready to offer my good offices, should it be requested by both sides, to facilitate dialogue in order to achieve a negotiated settlement,” Ki-moon wrote in response to a Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s letter.
In his August 5th letter, the premier had apprised the UN chief about the intensified use of brutality and human rights violation in Kashmir by Indian forces.
SG UN response to PM’S letter that highlighted atrocities in Kashmir. Unequivocal endorsement of PM’S Kashmir policy pic.twitter.com/NVL1wuiCYD
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) August 19, 2016
The Prime Minister called for efforts to implement the decades-old UN Security Council resolutions providing a framework for the settlement of Kashmir dispute through a plebiscite.
“I deplore the loss of life and hope that all efforts will be made to avoid further violence,” the secretary-general said in his letter.
At least 80 Kashmiri civilians have been killed and thousands more injured in the valley after a prominent Kashmiri youth leader, Burhan Wani, was killed in a gunfire with Indian forces on July 8.
“I appreciated the continued commitment of Pakistan to the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute for the sake of regional peace and security, as you reaffirmed in your letter,” the UN Secretary-General said.
“The United Nations remains convinced that it is only through dialogue that the outstanding issues between Pakistan and India, including on Kashmir, can be addressed.”
