Nawaz to discuss Kashmir with UN chief, other leaders at WEF

NEW DELHI: India's "interference and human rights violations in Kashmir" will be among issues Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will discuss with the UN chief and world leaders on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF)'s annual meeting in Davos, reports the world media on Monday.

Sharif is scheduled to attend the annual meeting, starting on Tuesday (today) in the Swiss city, on the invitation of the WEF Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Earlier this month, Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi, briefed the new UN chief on the Kashmir issue. She also presented a dossier containing "evidence of Indian interference in Pakistan."

Later, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres offered to mediate between Pakistan and India on Kashmir and agreed to play the role of "honest broker" to de-escalate tensions between Pakistan and India that have been on the rise since last year's terror attack on Uri, in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The prime minister will discuss the dossier against India with the UN chief and seek his help to ease the tension [with India] to make way for dialogue," said a Pakistan foreign ministry official.

The official said that Sharif will also try to meet other world leaders to project Pakistan's point-of-view on Kashmir and seek support "against Indian aggression" along the Line of Control.

"Naturally the bilateral ties will also come under discussion when the prime minister meets the leaders of the other countries," the official added.

The WEF is a Geneva-based Swiss non-profit foundation. The January-end meeting is its best known annual feature.