*UNITED NATIONS: In a diplomatic setback for India, UN Chief opens General Assembly session with Occupied Kashmir conflict in South Asia.*
*India has been trying hard not to mention or talk about Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly session, however Pakistan’s diplomtic efforts seemed to prevail. *
The 74th session of the General Assembly began on Tuesday with a call from the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres for dialogue to resolve the crisis between Pakistan and India over Occupied Kashmir in South Asia, where tensions had escalated.
Prime Minister Imran Khan led the Pakistani delegation at the gathering at the United Nations headquarters, as Guterres opened the annual debate. In his speech, Guterres said on the global landscape, he saw conflicts persisting, terrorism spreading and the risk of a new arms race growing.
“Tensions are elevated in South Asia, where differences need to be addressed through dialogue,” the UN chief told world leaders attending the assembly’s high-level segment in an obvious reference to the current Pakistan-India confrontation over New Delhi’s move to alter the status of occupied Kashmir.
On August 5, India illegally abolished Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, unleashing a crackdown that included arrests of thousands of people, cut off of communications and internet services as well as detention of political leaders. The lockdown is now in its 51st day.
Guterres presented assessment of the international situation in his annual report on the work of the organisation. He warned that he saw conflicts persisting on the global landscape, terrorism spreading and the risk of a new arms race growing.