United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir where a fresh wave of violence Indian forces have claimed the lives of 20 Kashmiris.
"The Secretary-General has expressed and will continue to express his concern at the situation (in Kashmir). I think we spoke about it earlier in the week, reminding all parties of the need to protect civilians,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
According to the spokesman, the UN chief was “very closely” following the situation and good offices of the UN were open to act as a bridge between India and Pakistan. The spokesman stressed that while India was opposed to UN mediation in resolving the Kashmir dispute, Pakistan had continuously sought the secretary general’s good offices to resolve the decades-long dispute.
During a press briefing on Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal expressed solidarity with the people of Kashmir. Dr Faisal remarked that India is trying to crush the struggle of people in Indian occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan is willing to bear all expenses for the treatment of people injured in occupied Kashmir, he added.
In a statement earlier this week, Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa condemned Indian atrocities.
“Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir can never suppress a just indigenous political struggle for self-determination,” the army chief was quoted as saying in a tweet by Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor.
