AJK President Welcomes UN Secretary General's Statement On Kashmir

Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has welcomed United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutteres' statement expressing the hope that Pakistan and India would engage in a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, as well as his offer of good offices in the dialogue between the two countries which has not succeeded so far

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jan, 2019 ) :Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has welcomed United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutteres' statement expressing the hope that Pakistan and India would engage in a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, as well as his offer of good offices in the dialogue between the two countries which has not succeeded so far.

The President said that, in this context, the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir were "keystone" documents, which cannot be shelved, said a press release issued here.

President Masood Khan thanked the UN Secretary General for highlighting the importance of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights' report on the deteriorating human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, issued in June 2018. "Mr. Gutteres has done the right thing by owning that report and affirming that 'the UN has done its job in that regard", the AJK President said.

President Masood Khan, at the invitation of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, also met and interacted with the visiting President of the United Nations General Assembly, Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa, during a luncheon meeting at the Foreign Office.

President Masood Khan urged the President UN General Assembly to raise her voice against the plight of the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir and call for the protection of the rights of the Kashmiris as recommended by the Office of the High Commissioner.

Later on, Ms. Espinosa in a public statement called for respect of human rights in Kashmir. She said that the UN resolutions on Kashmir were passed by the UN Security Council. However, as the President of the UNGA, she said, it was her role to "ensure the implementation of UN's mandate and general recommendations for international peace and security".

The President of AJK conveyed his appreciation that Michelle Bachelet, the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, has owned the report of her predecessor and is working on its follow up. He expressed the hope that the UN Human Rights Council would soon constitute a Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir.

He also drew the attention of the UNGA's President on a report published by a multi-partisan All-Party Parliamentary Group which also calls for the repeal of black laws and an end to a culture of impunity that enables the occupation forces to illegally kill Kashmiris without any fear of prosecution.