UN chief slams killings in India-held Kashmir, calls for India-Pak dialogue
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has deplored the ongoing killings in India-held Kashmir as security forces there try to stamp out weeks of anti-government protests by Kashmiri civilians, and urged India and Pakistan to settle Kashmir and other issues through dialogue.
"I stand ready to offer my good offices, should it be requested by both sides, to facilitate dialogue in order to achieve a negotiated settlement," he wrote in a letter he sent in response to a letter from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif apprising the UN chief about the deteriorating situation in Kashmir.
"I deplore the loss of life and hope that all efforts will be made to avoid further violence," the secretary-general said in his letter, obtained by APP.
At least 70 Kashmiri civilians have been killed and thousands more injured in Indian held Kashmir in clashes with security forces after the killing of a prominent Kashmiri separatist leader Burhan Wani, in a military operation on July 8.