UN asks for escorts for military observers in Kashmir after Pakistan flag incident

Date:

The UN has asked the Indiangovernment for additional escortsfor its military observers in Kashmir after one of its vehicleswas stopped by a group of protesters in Jammu, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarricsaid. “The observer groupreported on February 16 that a UN vehicle in the city of Jammu was surrounded by a group of protesters who placed a Pakistanflag in front of the vehicle. The vehicle attempted to bypass the flag but was unable to do so,” Dujarric told the media on Tuesday.

He said the circumstances of the incident was “regrettable and unavoidable” and that the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) had informed the governments of both countries. “The Mission also requested India to provide additional escorts and will be conducting an investigation,” he added.

It was not clear if the protesters were pro-Pakistani or were supporters of India, who used the Pakistani flag to protest what they may perceive as UNMOGIP’s bias and its presence in the state. The 44-member UNMOGIP, now led by Uruguayan Major General Jose Eladio Alcain, began operations in 1949 to monitor the ceasefire in Kashmir following up a Security Council resolution the previous year.

India maintains that UNMOGIP has become redundant because under the Shimla Agreement of 1972 between Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistan’s then-President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto the Kashmirdispute is a bilateral issue with no role for third parties. (Arul Louis can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @arulouis).

Courtesy IANS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Popular

spot_imgspot_img

Subscribe

More like this
Related

‘Small Intensity Explosion-like Sound Heard Near Poonch Hospital’

M S Nazki Srinagar, Mar 27 : A small intensity...

Participation of Independent Candidates in Lok Sabha Elections Plummets in JK

KD NEWS SERVICE SRINAGAR, Mar 26: Voting for the first...

L-S Elections : G.M Saroori files nomination papers for Udhampur-Doda seat

KD NEWS SERVICE KATHUA, Mar 26: Democratic Progressive Azad Party...

BJP Releases Sixth List Of Three Candidates For Lok Sabha Elections

KD NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, Mar 26: The Bharatiya Janata...