Ban will use good offices only if requested by both Pakistan, India

United Nations, Oct. Oct 21: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will use his "good offices" to help India and Pakistan mend fences only if both countries requested it, his spokesperson said Tuesday.

Asked by a reporter if Ban had any advise for the two countries and if he would offer his good offices to help improve their relations, his deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters Tuesday, "The way UN good offices work is that they would need to be requested by both parties."

On Kashmir, Haq said, "You've seen what the Secretary-General has said in the past on the issue of Kashmir and his concerns still apply but we have nothing new to add on that."

Ban has expressed concern in the past over tension between the two South Asian neighbors and in June, Haq had said, "Our hope in this, is that the leaders of the two countries will continue to engage with each other and try to resolve the situation peacefully and amicably. And we will see where they go with that."

India maintains that any issues between India and Pakistan should be resolved by them without any third party involvement.

IANS