Gaza truce could help revive efforts for negotiated settlement: UN chief

NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met with United Nations Secretary General (UN Chief) António Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York.

During the meeting, the foreign minister expressed deep concern over the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories caused by Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, resulting in over 250 deaths including dozens of women and children.

Qureshi underscored that his visit to New York to attend the General Assembly session on Palestine was an expression of Pakistan’s firm and unwavering support to the legitimate cause of the Palestinian people for their right to self-determination.

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Welcoming the recent ceasefire announcement, the UN chief expressed the hope that this could help revive efforts for a negotiated settlement of the Palestinian issue.

Foreign Minister Qureshi also briefed the UN Secretary General on the serious human rights and humanitarian situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) including continued illegal incarceration of the Kashmiri political leaders and extra-judicial killings.

He said that the re-initiation of the 2003 ceasefire understanding between Pakistan and India along the Line of Control (LOC) was a welcome step. “Pakistan desired normal relations with India. However, the onus was on India to take steps to create an enabling environment for a meaningful engagement,” he maintained.

Qureshi urged the UN Chief to use his good offices to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in line with the UN Charter and the relevant Security Council Resolutions.

Also Read: ‘Thanks to God,’ Gazans chant as truce takes hold

He highlighted Pakistan’s constructive efforts to facilitate the Afghan peace process, and expressed the hope that the Afghan parties would seize the opportunity and reach an inclusive, politically-negotiated settlement, resulting in lasting peace and security in Afghanistan.

Expressing deep concern at the rising tide of intolerance, discrimination, violence and Islamophobia against Muslims, he urged the need for the relevant UN bodies to address this challenge, as well as take effective measures against the threat posed by violent nationalist, supremacist, far right and extreme-right wing terrorist groups and ideologies.