The Foreign Office (FO) on Thusrday welcomed United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s offer to mediate Pak-India peace talks amid heightening tensions between the two countries after the killing of a Kashmiri militant in India-held Kashmir (IHK) sparked protests in the region.
“It is the UN’s responsibility to intervene in the matter and get the issue resolved,” FO Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said at a press briefing, adding that the body should play its role in order to get UN resolutions implemented.
“India cannot call the present situation of IHK an internal matter”, Foreign Office (FO) Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said at a press briefing.
“Jammu and Kashmir is not an internal matter of India, it’s a recognised issue under the United Nations,” he added.
The death toll from clashes between Indian troops and protesters in the region has risen to 34 as massive protests continued despite imposition of an indefinite curfew in most parts of IHK after militant commander Burhan Wani was killed.
Pakistan on Sunday condemned what it termed the ‘extra-judicial’ killing of Wani, Hizbul Mujahideen’s chief of operations, by Indian government forces.
The FO also expressed Pakistan’s concerns over the detention of Kashmiri leadership in IHK and called upon the Indian government to fulfill its human rights obligations as well as its commitments under UN resolutions.
