August 13, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Saani 3, 1423

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NEW YORK, Aug 12: Kashmir media reports on the role of United Nations observers on the India-Pakistan border were “inflammatory” and can harm the safety of personnel in that mission, a UN spokesman warned on Monday.

The local reports carried a number of “groundless and potentially inflammatory accusations” about the role of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, Fred Eckhard said.

The United Nations reminded the Kashmir media that the UN mission, with 45 unarmed military observers, was sent in 1971 to observe and report on the ceasefire at the Line of Control between India and Pakistan and the boundary between Pakistan and the Jammu and Kashmir region situated on the Indian side.

The United Nations reminded the host countries that they are responsible for the safety of UN personnel.

“We trust that the authorities will ensure that the difficulty and risks faced by these dedicated officers are not exacerbated by such irresponsible and misinformed reports,” Eckhard said.

The UN headquarters in New York did not make available the Kashmiri reports.—dpa