Pakistan writes to UN chief; asks for intervention in Kashmir

Accuses India of "deliberate and unprovoked violations of the ceasefire agreement and cross-border firing

Stepping up its attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue, Pakistan has written to the UN chief on the security situation along the LoC and the International Border with India and sought the world body's intervention in resolving the issue.

In a letter to UN chief Ban ki-moon, Adviser to the Pakistan Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz accused India of "deliberate and unprovoked violations of the ceasefire agreement and cross-border firing" over the past weeks.

"I write to bring to your urgent attention the deteriorating security situation along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as along the International Border between Pakistan and India...

"As you are aware, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the long outstanding issues on the agenda of the UN Security Council, whose resolutions promising the holding of a plebiscite, under the auspices of the United Nations, for self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, remain valid though unimplemented to date," Aziz wrote in the letter which was released by Pakistan Foreign Office here.

He added that Pakistan has been reminding the UN and the international community since decades to fulfill that promise, in the interest of "durable peace and security in the region."

Referring to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's address to UN General Assembly last month during which he emphasised on the need to resolve the whole issue of Jammu and Kashmir, Aziz said "unfortunately, India has adopted a policy that runs counter to its stated desire to engage in a serious bilateral dialogue with Pakistan."

He added, "India cancelled, unilaterally and without any plausible justification, the Foreign Secretary level talks that were scheduled to be held on August 25, 2014."

Asking Ban to circulate the letter as an official document of the Security Council, Aziz said Pakistan believes that the UN has an important role to play in promoting the objective of peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue, including through his "good offices, which we have always welcomed, and the crucial role of the UNMOGIP on ground, which needs to be strengthened and facilitated under the current circumstances.