UN Secretary General for Pakistan-India dialogue

New York: The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that he wished that Pakistan and India would “engage in a meaningful dialogue”. While addressing a press conference at the UN headquarters, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded to a Pakistani journalist’s question pertaining to the ongoing tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi as well as the apparent efforts by the Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government to hold peace talks. The journalist asked Guterres to comment on the fact that despite Khan’s leadership making “peace gestures”, the much-talked-about “dialogue has not happened” and “there has been no response” from India. “As a result, tensions have increased. The situation in Indian controlled Kashmir has deteriorated as a result of human rights abuses,” Ali added. To which, the UN chief said: “I’ve been offering my good offices in relation to the dialogue between the two countries that, until now, had no conditions of success. “The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has produced recently a very detailed report. So, the UN has clearly done its job in that regard. “I hope that the importance of both India and Pakistan is such in international affairs, I hope that the two countries will be able to engage in a meaningful dialogue,” he added. Later, on his Twitter account, Guterres wrote: “We need international cooperation more than ever, but simply saying this will not make it happen. “Many people aren’t convinced and we need to understand why – and act on that understanding,” he added.