Gos mohammad, City or town hall in Karachi, Pakistan

Asked at his daily briefing if any progress was being through the contacts, he said: "I can't say I have any updates to bring to you on that front."When a reporter asked if Guterres, who is on vacation, can do anything about the situation, Dujarric said: "The Secretary General has been kept informed, very much informed of what is going on and what the contacts that the UN has had by the permanent missions, both from the Indian Permanent Mission and the Permanent Mission of Pakistan.""What we are saying publicly is also being transmitted privately to Pakistan and India," he said.On Thursday, Dujarric said that Guterres has appealed for "maximum restraint" and called "on all parties to refrain from taking steps that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir"."The Secretary General is also concerned over reports of restrictions on the Indian-side of Kashmir, which could exacerbate the human rights situation in the region," he added.Dujarric also said that the UN position is that the region is "governed by the Charter of the United Nations and applicable Security Council resolutions".He said that Guterres also recalled 1972 Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan "which states that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir is to be settled by peaceful means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations".As a background historical note, the Simla Agreement signed in the aftermath of the Bangladesh War by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was Pakistan's President, also stated that disputes between the two countries should be dealt with bilaterally, effectively ruling out third party involvement.The Security Council resolution adopted on April 21, 1948, on holding a plebiscite in Kashmir asked Pakistan to withdraw its personnel, including those who had invaded it in the guise of "tribesmen," from all of Kashmir as the first step.Pakistan refused to pull back, making a plebiscite impossible to hold. Under the circumstance, India has said that the people of Kashmir had had their say by participating in state and national elections.(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)( With inputs from IANS )

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Fear gripped the political leadership in Jammu and Kashmir as speculations surfaced earlier this month that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government could abolish or try to amend Article 35A and Article 370 that accorded special status ...

China has "reassured Pakistan of it's support and commitment" and announced that it supported Islamabad's decision to approach the UN Security Council in the wake of India's decision to revoke Article 370 of its Constitution that gave special status ...

In wake of the changes brought in by New Delhi in the special status to Jammu and Kashmir after scrapping Article 370, Russia on Saturday said it hoped that India and Pakistan will not allow aggravation of the situation in the region. ...

Pakistan has formally suspended its trade relations with India, in retaliation against New Delhi's decision to revoke Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the media reported on Saturday. ...

As tension between India and Pakistan escalates over scrapping of special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Islamabad has hastily reactivated nearly a dozen terror camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and close to the International Border along Jammu ...

China intends to support Pakistan in the UN Security Council (UNSC) over the Kashmir issue, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday after meeting with his counterpart Wang Yi and other senior officials. ...

After suspending two cross-border train services, Pakistan has announced to suspend the Lahore-Delhi friendship bus service, in the wake of India's moves on Kashmir. ...

The UN is continuing contacts with India and Pakistan through their permanent missions regarding the Kashmir situation, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Friday. ...