New Delhi: If the need arises, India is expected to make it clear to the United Nations that all issues between India and Pakistan have to be addressed bilaterally, amid UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres mulling the option of talking to senior officials from India and Pakistan on the situation in Kashmir. One of the UN Secretary General’s spokespersons said this would be to see how things can be improved on the ground.

“Our position on addressing all issues between India and Pakistan bilateral has not changed,” Indian government sources said on Friday.

The UN chief’s deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq was quoted by news agencies as telling reporters at the UN that Mr Guterres “will talk to different officials if it helps (to) move the process along. That’s something that he is looking into. Beyond that, I have nothing new to say about the issue”. Mr Haq made the remarks when he was asked at his daily press briefing about the situation in Kashmir and if Mr Guterres has been able to understand the Kashmir dispute and whether he would be talking to PM Narendra Modi.

When asked if there is a timeline as to when the UN chief will talk to leaders from the two countries, Mr Haq said as with any number of long-running situations, there are “a lot of complex issues” that need to be examined.

The UN Chief “will look into the issue, and certainly, he will try to see what can be done to improve the situation on the ground,” Haq said.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had repeatedly expressed deep concern about the deteriorating situation along the Line of Control in Kashmir and called
on all those involved to prioritise the restoration of calm and stability in order to prevent any further escalation of tensions and loss of lives. Ban had called for the two nations to resolve their difference bilaterally, saying that his good offices were available to India and Pakistan if “accepted by both sides”.