Obligated to mediate between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, says UK MP

LONDON: British member of the parliament (MP) Ivan Lewis has said that the British government has a historic obligation to mediate between Pakistan and India on Kashmir issue, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

In a letter addressed to United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, he said the region of Kashmir has been the epicenter of violent and territorial conflict for more than 70 years.

He said at the time, the UK signed United Nations Security Council resolution 47, which demanded that the Kashmiri people were given right of self-determination through a free ,fair and impartial plebiscite. Therefore, he reminded the foreign secretary, he must condemn the action of the Indian government of revoking Article 370 in the strongest term.

He said it is our moral obligation to speak out and in the first instance demand a peaceful resolution to the escalating situation in occupied Kashmir.

China has again expressed concerned over the current situation in Occupied Kashmir and escalating conflict between India and Pakistan, Radio Pakistan reported on Tuesday.

The concern was expressed by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Beijing, who is on a three-day visit to China.

Wang Yi said the current situation in Kashmir has escalated tension between India and Pakistan and China opposes any unilateral action that complicate the situation.

He said New Delhi’s move to end the constitutional status of Jammu Kashmir will change the status quo of the disputed area and will result in a tense situation in the region.

Wang Yi hoped that India and Pakistan would resolve disputes in a peaceful manner and jointly safeguard the overall situation of regional peace and stability.