UNITED NATIONS, Aug 29: Pakistan on Thursday asked the UN Security Council to expand the role and mandate of the UN Monitoring Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).

Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, told the council that a strengthened UNMOGIP, operating on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), between India and Pakistan can and should be utilized not only to observe and report on the ceasefire along the LoC in Kashmir, but also to monitor allegations of cross-LoC movement which are often advanced by one party.

He urged that UNMOGIP should be asked to observe and report on the implementation of confidence-building measures which may be agreed by the two sides; to report on the violations of human rights taking place in Jammu and Kashmir; and to address the root causes of the conflict, i.e., the demand of the right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council.

The Security Council meeting which was convened to consider “the Contribution of Peacekeeping to International Peace and Security” was informed that only 45 military observers are expected to maintain the most tenuous of ceasefires in this dangerous flashpoint.

On Pakistan ‘s role in UN peacekeeping operations, Mr Akram said: “Pakistan is one of the oldest, largest, and most consistent contributors of UN peacekeeping troops. Pakistan has participated in over 25 UN peacekeeping operations in the last four decades in Somalia, Bosnia, Sierra Leone and other places.”