United Nations: Day after horrific POK incident, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday raised the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday.
Addressing the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA), Pak Prime Minister projected restraint by both countries from “use or the threat of use of force under any circumstances” and formalisation of the 2003 border ceasefire as part of the formula to ensure peaceful ties between the two nuclear-armed nations.
“Cooperation, not confrontation, should define our relationship,” Sharif said while underlining the “primacy and urgency” of addressing the issues of Kashmir and peace and security between India and Pakistan.
At the same time, Sharif also focused on Kashmiris insisting “consultations with Kashmiris, who are an integral part of the dispute, are essential to evolving a peaceful solution.”
Sharif further proposed a four-point agenda to diffuse tensions between India and Pakistan with regard to the Kashmir issue as well as the frequent reported incidents of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Working Boundary (IWB) that separates the two nations in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I want to use this opportunity today to propose a new peace initiative with India starting with measures that are simplest to implement,” he said.
He then went on to list out the four ways:
We propose that Pakistan and India formalize and respect the 2003 understanding for a complete ceasefire on the Line of Control in Kashmir. For this purpose, we call for UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan) expansion to monitor the observance of ceasefire.
We propose that Pakistan and India reaffirm that they will not resort to the use or the threat of use of force under any circumstances. This is a central element of the UN charter.
Steps must be taken to demilitarize Kashmir
Agree to unconditional mutual withdrawal from Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battle ground.
Efforts for maintaining peace between the two nations were only possible if the leaderships agreed to a broad range of measures to neutralize the threat perceptions and perils posed by offensive and advanced weapons systems.
He asserted that “Pakistan neither wants to, nor is it engaged in, an arms race in South Asia”, and added that as a responsible nuclear weapon state, it would continue to support the objectives of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
(with ANI inputs)