All parties should refrain from steps that could affect occupied Kashmir's status: UN boss

NEW YORK: The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for all parties and stakeholders in the occupied Kashmir issue "to refrain from taking steps that could affect" the disputed region's status, his spokesperson said on Thursday.

The spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, in a statement said UN boss Guterres "has been following the situation in Jammu and Kashmir with concern and makes an appeal for maximum restraint".

Dujarric reiterated that the UN's position on the Muslim-majority Himalayan region was governed by the Charter of the United Nations and applicable Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

Guterres further 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 Charter of the United Nations", the spokesperson noted.

"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," Dujarric added.

'Blatant violations of human rights'

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met with Ambassadors, heads of mission, and members of the Diplomatic Corps to speak to them about the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the human rights violations in occupied Kashmir.

According to Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal, Qureshi briefed "the Heads of Mission / Ambassadors and members of the Diplomatic Corps rejecting the Indian decision to try to change disputed status of IOK".

The FM also pushed for the diplomats to make an effort "to stop India from committing blatant violations of human rights of Kashmiri people".

Qureshi "urged them to stop India from committing blatant violations of human rights of Kashmiri people as it has turned IOK into the largest prison in the world by deploying over 900,000 troops to subjugate 14 million Kashmiris," Dr Faisal said.

Indian High Commissioner expelled

On Wednesday, Pakistan had expelled Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria and announced to suspend bilateral trade with its nuclear-armed neighbour. "We will call back our ambassador from Delhi and send back their" envoy, FM Qureshi had said.

Following that, India had urged Pakistan to review diplomatic ties, with its Ministry of External Affairs terming the Article 370 move as an "internal affair of India".

The MEA had also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government "regrets the steps announced by Pakistan yesterday and would urge that country to review them so that normal channels for diplomatic communications are preserved”.

Prior to that, the foreign minister had addressed a news conference wherein he announced that Pakistan would approach the UNSC over India’s move to revoke Article 370. He said he had told his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, that Islamabad dismissed New Delhi’s decision to term revoking Article 370 "an internal matter".

'Decided to once again go to the UNSC'

Qureshi noted: “I said this was not right and Pakistan dismisses this stance. Occupied Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute. There are several UNSC resolutions on this and making those as the basis we have decided to once again go to the UNSC.”

The FM also rejected Jaishankar's statement that revoking occupied Kashmir's special status was aimed at the socio-economic development of the valley’s residents.

"If this was the case, what stopped them [India] from taking such measures when Article 370 was made part of the Indian constitution seven decades ago."

On Monday, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government scrapped Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution that granted special status to occupied Kashmir, FM Qureshi had said there was a threat of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Muslim-majority, Himalayan region.

Status quo must be addressed: US Senator

He had said Islamabad would request and appeal to the United Nations (UN), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), ally nations, and human rights organisations not to remain silent on this issue and speak on what Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan termed was New Delhi's "illegal" move.

To date, among the various moves and decisions, Pakistan closed the Samjhota Express train service with India and US Senator Lindsey Graham said: "India’s decision to change the status quo must be addressed before it leads to a further escalation of tensions.

"The last thing the region and the world needs is further military confrontations between India and Pakistan over Kashmir,” Graham had said.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi, had also met the intergovernmental organisation's top officials, urging them to push India to comply with the UNSC's resolutions and demanding the UNSC ask India to reverse destabilising actions in occupied Kashmir.

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