UNITED NATIONS, The United Nations’ position on Jammu and Kashmir is “well-established and has not changed”, the UN Secretary-General Spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said Tuesday, after Pakistan rejected an Indian claim that the disputed state was an “integral” part of India.
The Indian claim to Jammu and Kashmir as India’s part was made by the country’s Ambassador, T S Tirumurti, at a press conference on Monday. In a swift rejoinder, Pakistan’s Ambassador Munir Akram said, “Jammu and Kashmir is a UN-recognized disputed territory and NOT an ‘integral part of India’.”
A journalist at the regular noon briefing in New York on Tuesday asked Spokesman Dujarric about UN’s stand on Kashmir.
“Our position on Kashmir is well established and has not changed,” he said.
Asked to repeat the UN position on the Kashmir dispute, Dujarric said, “You will find it in relevant resolutions. I’m not going to go and repeat it, but ours (position) is unchanged.”
Following India’s illegal action to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on Aug 5, 2019, a spokesman for the UN had reaffirmed the UN stand on the the dispute.
“The position of the United Nations on this region is governed by the Charter of the United Nations and applicable Security Council resolutions,” he said.
“The Secretary-General also recalls 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 Charter of the United Nations.
“The Secretary-General is also concerned over reports of restrictions on the Indian-side of Kashmir, which could exacerbate the human rights situation in the region.
“The Secretary-General calls on all parties to refrain from taking steps that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir. “
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