Externam affairs ministry at odds with UN over remarks on Kashmir
Spokesperson Farhan Haq e-mailed a statement to journalists at the UN headquarters in New York last week stating that Ban Ki-moon "is concerned about the prevailing security situation" in Kashmir.
The external affairs ministry was today at odds with the United Nations over secretary general Ban Ki-Moon's gratuitous remarks on Kashmir, which irked India but were welcomed by Pakistan.The ministry issued a statement saying that the secretary general's office had clarified that he had not made remarks voicing concern over the current situation in Kashmir andbacking the resumption of Indo-Pak composite dialogue.
Ban's controversial remarks, which did not go well with New Delhi, had been e-mailed to the media in New York last week by his Pakistani-origin spokesperson Farhan Haq.Haq's attention was drawn to the ministry's statement andhe was asked if what he had circulated to journalists reflected Ban's views.The spokesperson responded in an e-mail message, "Yes,what I sent last week in response to questions reflects thesecretary-general's views."Asked if the Indian government had protested to the UN, he said "As for what the Indian government has done, please ask them."When told about the contradictory positions between the two sides, sources in the MEA declined to be drawn into further comments on the issue. "Whatever we have to say, we have said in the statement," said a source.Meanwhile, Pakistan foreign minister SM Qureshi cited Ban's comments to say that these as well as the "disappointment" expressed by Organisation of Islamic Conference reflected the "collective concern of the international community at the human rights violation" in Jammu and Kashmir.According to the last week's e-mail by Haq, Ban "is concerned over the prevailing security situation" in "Indian-administered Kashmir". This was a reference to the turmoil in the Kashmir valley in which a number of lives have been lost.
Haq said the secretary general called on "all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and address problems peacefully."He (Ban) encourages both sides to rekindle the spirit of composite dialogue which was initiated in 2004 and had madeencouraging progress on some important confidence buildingmeasures, and to make renewed efforts to address outstandingissues, including on Jammu and Kashmir," it further said.