UN urges India, Pakistan to address outstanding issues through dialogue

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday urged India and Pakistan to resolve their outstanding issues, including Kashimir, through dialogue.

The UN chief made the remarks when he met here with Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan.

The meeting took place on the margins of the annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly, the week-long event which opened here Tuesday.

"The secretary-general stressed the need for Pakistan and India to address their outstanding issues, including Kashmir, through dialogue in the interest of both countries and the region as a whole," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"The secretary-general expressed appreciation to Pakistan for its hosting of one of the largest groups of refugees for decades," he said.

Pakistani and Indian military officials on Sunday established contact on hotline after militants killed at least 17 Indian troopers and injured over 20 others in a suicide attack on an Indian military base in Indian-controlled Kashmir, reports said.

Troops of India and Pakistan Tuesday targeted each other's positions on the Line of Control (LoC), dividing Kashmir, the reports said.

The two sides exchanged fire in village Latchipora of Uri sector in frontier Baramulla district, 125 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. Endit