By Arul Louis United Nations, Sep 9 : UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that despite the fact that he offers his “good offices” to mediate the Kashmir dispute, India has refused it since it regards it as an issue between two countries.
Guterres who is currently making a trip to Pakistan to demonstrate “solidarity” with the victims of the floods and told journalists: “On the other hand we have been active in regards to the clear declaration that human rights should be upheld”.
At a press event in Islamabad with Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari by his side, he said that he was “always offering” his good services to facilitate”.
“But as you are aware that the Indian side believes the issue to be a bilateral issue to be resolved only through Pakistan and India as well as the mediation of the United Nations has not been accepted until this point,” he said according to an UN transcript.
In defiance of Pakistan’s efforts to internationalize the Kashmir issue, India cited the Simla agreement of 1972, signed by the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was the President of Pakistan President at the time, requiring both countries to settle disputes bilaterally.
Guterres who has said that he has been in “a relationship of love with the Pakistani people for the past 17 years” and is now in Pakistan to promote his climate change goals by presenting the flooding there as the primary argument against climate change.
“This is insane.The collective is committed to suicide”, he said of the climate change issue and the responses to it.
“From Pakistan, I am making a global appeal to put an end to the nonsense; stop the conflict with nature and put your money in renewable energy today.”
“Pakistan and other emerging countries all the way starting from the Horn of Africa to the Sahel pay an unjust cost for the stubbornness of large emitters who continue to place bets on fossil fuels in the in the face of the scientific method and common sense, as well as basic human morality”, he said.
“Some areas of Pakistan have had their wettest summer ever recorded.The rainfall in certain provinces was as much as eight times greater than normal.Climate change is a factor.”
He has issued an $160 million “flash appeal” for Pakistan and as of Thursday, the country had received just under $20 million as per the UN.
(Arul Louis is reached at arul.l@ians.in and he can be followed on Twitter at @arulouis)
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