UN chief says monitoring worsening situation in IoK

NEW YORK (Web Desk) – UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that he is monitoring the worsening situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK), especially tightening restrictions and mass arrests. In a statement, UN Secretary General spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, “We obviously continue to follow the situation very closely in IoK and also reports of restrictions in the Indian-administered side of the line of control. Earlier, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterreshas once again suggested dialogue between India and Pakistan to settle the grave crisis stemming from India’s annexation of the disputed Kashmir region. “The secretary-general is a strong believer in dialogue,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the regular noon briefing at UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday. He was answering a question from a Pakistani journalist whether the UN chief was pushing India and Pakistan towards some of talks as a follow-up to his last week’s statement, regarded here as highly significant, on the volatile situation in occupied Kashmir. The UN chief spokesman said the position of the UN on this region is governed by the UN Charter and applicable Security Council resolutions. He said the UN Secretary General also recalled the 1972 Agreement on bilateral relations between India and Pakistan also known as the Simla Agreement, which states that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir is to be settled by peaceful means, in accordance with the UN Charter. In that statement on August 8, the secretary-general had said he had been following the situation in Jammu and Kashmir with concern, making an appeal for maximum restraint. On Aug 16, the UNSC considered the volatile situation in Occupied Kashmir, addressing the issue in a meeting focused solely on the dispute, within the UN body dedicated to resolving matters of international peace and security, for the first time since 1965. The UN has long maintained an institutional presence in the contested area, which both countries claim in its entirety, with the areas under separate administration, divided by the Line of Control. The UN Military Observer Group in Indian and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) observes and reports on any ceasefire violations. Lately, India has been repeatedly violating LoC, firing across the line and killing Pakistani soldiers and civilians.