President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan on Saturday has lamented over the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s statements on Kashmir and said “he is trying to maintain an artificial balance between Pakistan and India.”
The Pakistan administered Kashmir president’s remarks came days after the UN chief’s Wednesday statement in which he said “I go on with a clear opinion that human rights must be fully respected in the territory.”
During the news conference at the outset of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the UN secretary general said “Well, our capacity is related to good offices, and good offices can only be implemented when the parties accept it. And, on the other hand, it relates to advocacy, and the advocacy was expressed and will be maintained,”
Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir has been under a near-complete lockdown since Aug. 5, after India scrapped its special status, with the government blocking communication access and imposing restriction on movement to thwart any protests in the region.
Several rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political detainees.
