ISLAMABAD: Deploring the ongoing killings in held Valley, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged India and Pakistan to resolve Kashmir and other disputes through dialogue.

In a related development, the Foreign Office again offered talks to India for resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

“I stand ready to offer my good offices, should it be requested by both sides, to facilitate dialogue in order to achieve a negotiated settlement,” Mr Ban wrote in response to a letter from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who had apprised the UN chief of the deteriorating situation in held Kashmir and violations of human rights there by Indian security forces.

FO offers talks to India for resolution of the dispute in accordance with UNSC resolutions

“I deplore the loss of life and hope that all efforts will be made to avoid further violence,” the secretary general said in his letter released here on Friday.

At least 70 Kashmiri civilians have been killed and thousands injured in India-held Kashmir in clashes with security forces after the killing of Kashmiri militant commander Burhan Wani in a military operation on July 8.

In his Aug 5 letter, Prime Minister Sharif called for efforts to end the persistent and egregious violation of the basic human rights of the Kashmiri people and also to implement the decades-old UN Security Council resolutions providing a framework for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute through a plebiscite.

“I appreciated the continued commitment of Pakistan to the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute for the sake of regional peace and security, as you reaffirmed in your letter,” Mr Ban said in his letter.

“The United Nations remains convinced that it is only through dialogue that the outstanding issues between Pakistan and India, including on Kashmir, can be addressed,” he said, adding that he looked forward to meeting the Pakistani leader again during the upcoming 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly to “discuss matters of common interest”.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office on Friday offered talks to India if they were meant for resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

An official press note released by the FO said: “The Indian high commissioner was called in today by the foreign secretary (of Pakistan) and a reply to the letter of the Indian foreign secretary was handed to him.”

The letter, it said, “invites the Indian foreign secretary to visit Islamabad by the end of this month to discuss the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, with a view to finding a fair and just solution, as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions and aspirations of the people of Jammu & Kashmir”.

Reiterating its earlier stance, the FO further stressed: “Pakistan has also called for putting an immediate end to the human rights violations against the innocent people of Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir, who are struggling for their right of self-determination, and for providing medical facilities to the injured in the Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir, including the permission for doctors and paramedics to travel.”

Pakistan has proposed to India Aug 29 and 30 as the possible dates for the meeting of their foreign secretaries on the Kashmir dispute, a senior diplomatic source told Dawn.

The dates were suggested by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry in response to the Indian government agreeing to send its Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar to Islamabad for talks on Kashmir.

The sticking point, however, is the agenda of the meeting. Pakistan has been insisting that the two countries should discuss the Kashmir dispute. However, India is adamant that “cross-border terrorism” should only be discussed at the meeting as “terrorism and infiltration central” to the situation in Kashmir.

An Indian diplomat, talking to Dawn on background, said Pakistani position was “unacceptable” and a “non-starter”.

According to Indian media, Indian foreign secretary in his letter had forwarded a five-point agenda. The letter was handed over to his Pakistani counterpart on Wednesday. The five-point agenda included: To end incitement to violence and terrorism from Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir; stop cross-border terrorism; detain and prosecute terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed; deny a safe haven to fugitives like Mumbai underworld don Dawood Ibrahim; and close terror camps.

In the letter, Mr Jaishankar, according to the Indian media, has also proposed “vacation of Pakistan’s illegal occupation of J&K”. Detailed briefing from Pakistan has also been sought on the progress of ongoing Mumbai attacks trial and investigation into the Pathankot airbase attack.

Following the arrest of Indian RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadhav in March this year from Quetta, the two countries continued to trade accusations of cross-border involvement, making it difficult for their respective foreign offices to hold talks.

To further worsen the situation, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in his speech last week on the eve of his country’s independence day accepted Indian involvement in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan termed Mr Modi’s statement crossing the “red line” and said it would forcefully raise the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly session next month.

For independent observers, the chances of secretary-level talks between Pakistan and India seem to have further bogged down as the two sides have taken hard lines on the agenda of their proposed meeting.

The ongoing unrest in India-held Kashmir, it looked from the recent statements coming from the two sides, is playing on the nerves of their respective foreign offices as well as security establishments.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2016