New Delhi: India in no time rejected UN chief Antonio Guterres’s offer of mediation on Kashmir on Sunday and said that the actual issue need to be considered is to vacate territories “illegally and forcibly” occupied by Pakistan.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “India’s position has not changed. Jammu and Kashmir has been, is,and will continue to be an integral part of India. The issue that needs to be addressed is that of vacation of the territories illegally and forcibly occupied by Pakistan.”
“Further issues, if any, would be discussed bilaterally. There is no role or scope for third-party mediation,” he said.
“We hope the UN secretary general would emphasize on the imperative for Pakistan to take credible, sustained and irreversible action to put an end to cross-border terrorism against India, which threatens the most fundamental human right – the right to life – of the people of India, including in J&K,” Kumar added.
Guterres is on a four-day visit to Pakistan. Addressing a press conference after his meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad, the UN secretary general said he was “deeply concerned” over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and tensions along the Line of Control.
“Diplomacy and dialogue remain the only tools that guarantee peace and stability with solutions in accordance with the Charter of United Nations and resolutions of the Security Council,” Guterres said.
