United Nations Secretary-Normal Antonio Guterres has mentioned it’s “completely important” for India and Pakistan to have the ability to come collectively and significantly focus on their issues, cautioning that any army confrontation could be a “catastrophe of unmitigated proportions” for each nations and the entire world.
IMAGE: Border Safety Power and Pakistani Rangers personnel participate within the beating retreat ceremony on the eve of 73rd Independence Day on the India-Pakistan Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar. {Photograph}: ANI Photograph
“Nicely, what I mentioned within the assertion…is sadly the identical that I can say at the moment. I imply, I do consider that it’s completely important to have a de-escalation of the scenario, particularly within the Line of [Control],” the UN chief mentioned.
Guterres was responding to a query by a Pakistani journalist on tensions between India and Pakistan over the scenario in Kashmir. The query additionally referred to the assertion Guterres had issued in August 2019 on the scenario in Jammu and Kashmir the place he had appealed for max restraint.
“I believe it is completely important for the 2 nations to have the ability to come collectively and significantly focus on their issues, and I believe it is important that human rights are absolutely revered in all territories that you just talked about,” Guterres mentioned throughout his press briefing on Thursday.
“Now, issues haven’t moved in the suitable course. Our good places of work are at all times obtainable, and we’ll insist inside it of discovering peaceable options for issues that don’t have any army answer. It’s clear, when seeing Pakistan and India, any army confrontation between the 2 could be a catastrophe of unmitigated proportions for each nations and for the entire world,” he mentioned.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after New Delhi abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Structure to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir’s particular standing and bifurcated it into two Union Territories in 2019.
Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic relations with India and expelled the Indian excessive commissioner following the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5.
India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its “inner matter”.
