ISLAMABAD: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is hopeful that India and Pakistan will engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve their differences, a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York revealed on Friday.
In response to questions raised by reporters, Guterres said he has offered his “good offices in relation to the dialogue between the two countries that, until now, had no conditions of success.”
The UN chief also added, “I hope that the importance of both India and Pakistan is such in international affairs...that the two countries will be able to engage in meaningful dialogue.”
When Guterres was asked to comment on the “deteriorating” human rights situation in Indian administered Kashmir, he referred to the 49-page UN report published last year by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “The UN has clearly done its job in that regard,” he said.
The Secretary-General’s optimistic statements came as UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa began her first official visit to Pakistan on Friday since taking office in September last year. Espinosa is on a four-day tour to the country and is the second President of the General Assembly to visit Pakistan since 2010.
After her arrival in Islamabad, Espinosa met with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and President Arif Alvi.
In a meeting which included a discussion about the situation in Indian administered Kashmir, Foreign Minister Qureshi underscored “the need for the United Nations to ensure implementation of Security Council resolutions,” according to a Foreign Office statement.
