‘Issues to be decided bilaterally’

New Delhi: India on Thursday said it has already conveyed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that bilateral issues with Pakistan will be resolved only bilaterally. Speculat-ion is rife that the clear message could have been conveyed earlier by PM Narendra Modi himself to the UN Secretary-General during a previous meeting. The UN Secretary-General had on Wednesday indicated his keenness for India and Pakistan to enter into a dialogue.

“I have seen the reply which has been reported in the media. Essentially, the Secretary-General asked a question in response to a question... Bilateral issues have to be decided bilaterally and the UN Secretary-General has been made aware of that position,” MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said on Thursday.

The reaction came after a question from the media in response to a reported statement of Mr Guterres that he is engaged in bringing about a dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue through his meetings with the Prime Ministers of the two countries. This comes despite Pakistan continuing to openly support terrorism in Kashmir and pushing through terrorists across the LoC.

“Why do you think I met three times the Prime Minister of Pakistan and two times the Prime Minister of India,” Mr Guterres had said with laughter in New York, responding to a question during a press briefing there.