Pak PM Sharif writes to P5 countries over 'dire situation in Kashmir'

United Nations, Sep 20: Ahead of his address to the UN General Assembly, Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has written to the permanent members of the Security Council over the Kashmir issue saying it is a "constant source of tension and instability" posing a threat to world peace and security.

Sharif has written to the Heads of Government/State of China, France, Russia, the UK and the US regarding "grave human rights violations" in Kashmir, Foreign Office (FO) said today.

letters emphasise the extremely negative implications of the dire situation in Kashmir, on regional, as well as international peace and security," it said in a statement.

Sharif wrote the "non-resolution of the Kashmir issue is a constant source of tension and instability in the region and a threat to international peace and security".

Last week, Sharif met Hurriyat leaders from Pakistan- occupied Kashmir (PoK) and had assured them that he would "emphatically highlight" the Kashmir issue at the 71st session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

Highlighting the violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws in Kashmir, Sharif in his letters asked the permanent members of the Security Council to fulfill their responsibility with regard to the Kashmir issue, which he said is one of the oldest internationally recognised unresolved disputes on the agenda of the UNSC.

Despite the passage of more than 68 years since the adoption of multiple resolutions, the people of Jammu and Kashmir still await the implementation of these resolutions which promised them the right to self-determination to be exercised through a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices, he wrote.

Sharif urged the permanent members of the Security Council to call upon the Indian government to immediately stop the bloodshed in Jammu and Kashmir and honour its human rights obligations as well as its commitments to the Kashmiri people.

PTI