ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Sharief asks Annan for UN intervention in Kashmir

In an apparent attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue, the Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharief, raised the matter at his meeting with the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York yesterday, urging deeper involvement in the bilateral issue by the United Nations as well as by the secretary-general.

A statement issued by the office of the UN spokesman did not indicate how Annan responded to the Pakistani prime minister's plea, but diplomatic observers said the UN chief was aware of India's position rejecting any outside intervention in what was purely a bilateral issue.

On Monday, Sharief had been told by US President Bill Clinton that while the United States was willing to help in resolving the Kashmir issue, India had taken the position that it was not a matter for outside intervention or participation.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is due to meet Annan on Thursday, and is expected to take the opportunity to reiterate the Indian stand in regard to the UN's or any other mediation on the Kashmir issue.

The secretary-general and the Pakistani prime minister discussed the situation in the sub-continent in the wake of the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan, and according to the UN spokesman, Annan "encouraged'' Pakistan to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty unconditionally.

They also exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan. Sharief welcomed the secretary-general's initiatives and expressed support for the UN efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

However, as far as India's standpoint on the Kashmir issue is concerned, outside intervention is a non-starter and this was known to the international community, a UN source said.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report