“Our position on Kashmir remains unchanged,” Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said at the daily press briefing here Wednesday.
Recalling the 1972 Shimla agreement between India and Pakistan, which prohibits any third-party mediation, a spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres stated that a permanent settlement of the Kashmir issue should be addressed by peaceful methods under the UN Charter and full regard for human rights. “Our position on Kashmir remains unchanged,” Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said at the daily press briefing here Wednesday.
The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “was, is, and shall forever” remain an essential part of India, the country has informed Pakistan on multiple occasions. After India revoked Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5, 2019, removing Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and dividing the State into two Union Territories, relations between the two nations fell precipitously.
In response to a query from a Palestinian journalist regarding the UN Secretary-General’s stance on Kashmir and the circumstances there five years following the repeal of Article 370, Haq made this statement. “The Secretary-General also recalls the 1972 agreement on bilateral relations between India and Pakistan, also known as the Shimla Agreement,” he said.
“It is to be reached by peaceful means in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and full respect for human rights,” stated Haq, as the ultimate resolution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue. He continued by saying that the UN charter and any relevant Security Council resolutions regulate the organisation’s attitude.
The Simla agreement, which was signed in 1972 by then-President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, is a bilateral agreement between the two nations that forbids third parties from mediating the Kashmir dispute. According to the 1972 Shimla Agreement, bilateral discussions and peaceful means of dispute settlement are the preferred methods for resolving disputes between the parties.
India has stated time and time again that it wants peaceful, neighbourly relations with Pakistan that are free from violence, hatred, and terror.
