Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday raked up the Kashmir issue in his first meeting with the new UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres but got no positive response to his request for the world body's intervention in the issue.
Sharif, who met Guterres on the sidelines of World Economic Forum at Davos, said that Kashmir needed attention of the UN, the Prime Minister's Office said here in a statement.
"A sustained dialogue process on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir is essential to make progress. It was in this spirit that we invited India for discussions on the resolution of the Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and aspirations of the Kashmiri people," Sharif said to the UN Chief.
The Pakistani Premier claimed that India did not respond positively to his country's "invitation" for dialogue and adopted a "no-talks posture, vitiating the atmosphere through incendiary statements...."
According to the statement, Sharif also raised the issue of Indus Water Treaty with the UN Secretary General.
"We look forward to your leadership and good offices.. the United Nations has longstanding responsibility to play a role in the resolution of these issues," Sharif said.
Guterres gave no positive response to Sharif's demand. He told Sharif that he was ‘fully cognizant of the sensitivity of the issues between India and Pakistan which has security consequences for the region’.
He praised Pakistan's contribution for the United Nations and Peace-keeping operations as well as hosting millions of Afghan refugees, the PMO said.
Sharif said his government's foremost priority was to build a peaceful neighbourhood.
"We are committed to lasting peace and security in our region and an environment conducive to economic cooperation; which is in the interest of all the people of South Asia," he said.
Sharif also praised the current Secretary General as the ideal candidate to take the UN forward into the 21st century and invited him to visit Pakistan at the earliest.
OIC proposes to send team to Kashmir, claims Pak
Meanwhile, Pakistan has claimed that Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has proposed to send human rights observers to Kashmir in March to assess the situation there.
Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement that Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz met OIC Secretary General Yousef Al-Othaime on the sidelines of the Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The OIC Secretary General "informed" Aziz that under instructions from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is the current Chair of the organisation, a "delegation of the OIC's Independent Human Rights Commission will be paying a visit" to Jammu and Kashmir in March.
"The OIC is also requesting India to allow the delegation to visit" Jammu and Kashmir, the statement said.
India has maintained that IOC, a grouping of 57 Muslim countries, has no locus standi in the Kashmir issue.
The statement further said Aziz briefed the OIC about the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir in the past five months.
Aziz thanked the Secretary General for convening the Extraordinary Session of the OIC Foreign Ministers on the Rohingya issue and invited him to visit Pakistan.
With Agency Inputs
