UNITED NATIONS, July 29: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over the “prevailing security situation in Indian-administered Kashmir over the past month” and asked India and Pakistan to make renewed efforts to address outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement issued here on Wednesday, his spokes-person said the secretary- general “calls on all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and address problems peacefully” and he “encouraged both sides to rekindle the spirit of composite dialogue which was initiated in 2004”.
The statement said: “The Secretary-General welcomes the recent resumption of foreign minister-level talks between India and Pakistan.
“He encourages both sides to rekindle the spirit of the composite dialogue, which was initiated in 2004 and had made encouraging progress on some important confidence-building measures, and to make renewed efforts to address outstanding issues, including on Jammu and Kashmir.
Ruling out one again withdrawal of its observer mission in India, Pakistan, United Nation’s Secretary General said the two countries should continue the composite dialogue process to maintain peace in the subcontinent. "India and Pakistan are two important countries in the subcontinent and they should continue to improve their relations through dialogue and cooperation," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters here. (Writer-South Asia)
