Amid renewed turbulence with India, Pak PM Sharif arrives for UNGA

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in New York yesterday to attend the 71st UN General Assembly where he is set to highlight the Kashmir issue.

Ties between India and Pakistan, which were already under severe strain, took a major hit when terrorists attacked an Indian military base in held Kashmir and killed 17 soldiers.

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh put the blame on Islamabad saying that Pakistan is a terrorist state and it should be identified and isolated as such.

According to Dawn, a Pakistani diplomat at the United Nations called it "a very reckless statement" and drew attention to India's "ruthless military campaign" in the Valley where Indian security forces had killed 104 civilians and injured more than 10,000 since early July.

Prime Minister Sharif is likely to devote a large part of his address to the UN General Assembly to talk about 'human rights abuses' in Kashmir.

He will also call on the global community to intervene in Kashmir to enforce UN resolutions that promised a plebiscite.

India is expected to raise the Baloch issue to counter Pakistan's position on Kashmir, claiming that Pakistan too is guilty of similar human rights violations in the province.