U.N. chief Antonio Guterres on August 9 urged India andPakistan to exercise “maximum restraint” and refrain from taking steps thatcould affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir, as he highlighted the ShimlaAgreement which rejects any third-party mediation on the issue. TheSecretary-General’s remarks came after India on August 5 revoked Article 370 towithdraw the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state intotwo Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.Pakistan termed the Indianaction as “unilateral and illegal”, and said it will take the matter to theU.N. Security Council.“The Secretary-General has been following the situationin Jammu and Kashmir with concern and makes an appeal for maximum restraint,”Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric said here.

Mr. Dujarric specifically said that the Secretary-General“also recalls the 1972 Agreement on bilateral relations between India andPakistan, also known as the Shimla Agreement, which states that the finalstatus of Jammu and Kashmir is to be settled by peaceful means” in accordancewith the Charter of the United Nations.The Secretary General did not offer hisgood offices nor did he make any offer to mediate between India and Pakistan onKashmir.Instead, he referred to the Shimla Agreement, which is a bilateralagreement between India and Pakistan and rejects any third-party mediation inthe issue.Mr. Guterres also called “on all parties to refrain from takingsteps” that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the position of the United Nations on the region wasgoverned by the Charter of the United Nations and is applicable to SecurityCouncil resolutions.

When asked to be more specific about reference to the UNSCresolutions on Kashmir in the statement, Mr. Dujarric said “I’m not going to gointo any more specifics of the statement which also refers to our concern”about reports of restrictions in Kashmir in India.“So I’ll refer you to thestatement,” he said.Mr. Dujarric reiterated that Guterres and the U.N.Secretariat were following the situation “very closely“.He said there had beencontacts from the U.N. Secretariat both with the Indian and Pakistaniauthorities and with the Permanent Missions of India and Pakistan.

He said there is no plan for the Secretary-General to briefthe Security Council on Kashmir.Reacting to India’s move, Pakistan expelled theIndian envoy and downgraded its diplomatic ties with New Delhi.

India has said that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part ofIndia and the issue was strictly internal to the country.