Guterres reiterates call for India-Pakistan dialogue on Kashmir

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reiterated his call for India and Pakistan to hold a dialogue on solving the Kashmir issue, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday.

Guterres "would underscore the need for the parties to find a peaceful solution through engagement and dialogue", Dujarric told reporters in reply to questions about the situation in Kashmir.

He denied a Pakistani reporter's suggestion that Guterres was brushing off the Kashmir issue. "I don't think the Secretary General is reluctant," he said. "It is obviously an issue that he is following. If we are able to say more, we will."

Dujarric also refused to comment on Monday's strike in Kashmir following civilian deaths in action by security forces. "I think I would refer you to what we have already said on the situation in Kashmir and I have nothing further to add to it," he said.

The strike was called by separatists a day after widespread clashes disrupted voting for the Srinagar by-election.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

--IANS

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