Ban makes no reference to Kashmir in final UNGA address
September 20, 2016  21:28
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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today made no reference to Kashmir and the situation in the Valley in his last address despite Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's repeated calls to the world body to help resolve the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan.

In his final address as the UN chief to the opening session of the General Debate in Geneva, Ban touched upon a plethora of global issues including the crisis in Syria, the Palestinian issue, the situation in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, the refugee and migrant movements.

He also addressed tensions in the Korean Peninsula and West Asia, the South Sudan tensions, violent extremism and its impact on regions from Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan to the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.

However, Ban did not make any mention of Kashmir or the tensions in the Valley, that have escalated in the recent months, even as Pakistan made repeated pleas to the UN to help resolve the dispute between India and Pakistan.

Kashmir will be the focal point of Sharif's address to the General Assembly tomorrow.

Tensions are particularly running high between India and Pakistan in the wake of the attack by heavily-armed militants from Pakistan-based JeM on an army base in Uri on Sunday that killed 18 jawans.

Ban's office has repeatedly said that the UN chief's 'good offices' are available to help resolve the Kashmir issue, only if both India and Pakistan request for it, a clear message that it is a bilateral issue and should be solved by the two countries.

Last month, Sharif had written two letters to Ban asking him to intervene in the Kashmir issue.

The letters were among the many that Islamabad had shot off to the UN, calling for the world body to take up the Kashmir issue.

However, in his long and final address to the world leaders, Ban did not make one reference to Kashmir while highlighting the issues on the UN agenda.
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