Pak FM Bilawal raises J&K issue with UN chief Antonio Guterres

United Nations, May 18 (PTI) Pakistan’s new Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres here on Wednesday and emphasised that Islamabad desires peace with all its neighbours, including India, which will continue to remain elusive unless the Jammu and Kashmir issue is resolved.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Zardari, in his meeting with the UN chief, “underscored that Pakistan desires peace with all its neighbours, including India, which will continue to remain elusive” unless the Jammu and Kashmir issue is “resolved in accordance with the UN Security resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people.” Zardari also referred to the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

India’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 outraged Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad.

India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019 by the country’s Parliament was its internal matter.

India has also repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is and shall forever” remain an integral part of the country. It also advised Pakistan to accept the reality and stop all anti-India propaganda.

India has told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.

During his meeting with Guterres, Zardari also “appreciated” the Secretary General’s role in “mobilising humanitarian and economic assistance for the Afghan people.

The Foreign Minister shared Pakistan’s concern about the spillover of instability in Afghanistan into Pakistan. He emphasised the international community’s response must address the urgent humanitarian needs and avoid a complete collapse of the economy in Afghanistan that will have dire consequences for ordinary Afghans.”