Uri attack affected Nawaz's Kashmir campaign at UN

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his meetings in New York did his best to highlight the Kashmir issue, but the Uri attack affected his campaign, a media report said.

Sharif on Friday left New York after five days of extensive lobbying for Kashmir at the United Nations and in bilateral meetings with world leaders.

Despite Sharif's striving to highlight the Kashmir cause, the effect was not as much as it would have been, due to the September 18 terror attack on an Indian army base in Uri, Dawn news reported.

Before the attack, prominent newspapers and television channels in the United States did a series of reports and articles on Kashmir, focusing on the current unrest and the deaths in clashes with security forces that have left nearly 90 dead and hundreds injured.

After the Uri attack, however, the focus shifted to militancy and a possible nuclear conflict in the region.

The US has urged Pakistan to cooperate with India in investigating the September 18 'terrorist attack' and to take immediate steps against 'externally focused' groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

"The United States is committed to our strong partnership with the Indian government to combat terrorism," the statement said.

--IANS

vgu/rn