Ban skips Kashmir issue in final UNGA address

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday made no reference to Kashmir and the situation in the Valley in his last address, despite Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's repeated calls to the world body to help resolve the crisis between India and Pakistan.

In his final address as the UN chief to the opening session of the General Debate here, Ban touched upon a plethora of global issues including the crisis in Syria, the Palestinian issue, the situation in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, the refugee and migrant movements.

He also addressed tensions in the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East, the South Sudan tensions, violent extremism and its impact on regions from Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan to the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.

But Ban did not mention Kashmir or the tensions there, which have escalated recently, even as Pakistan made repeated pleas to the UN to help resolve the dispute with India. 

Tensions are particularly running high between India and Pakistan in the wake of the attack by heavily-armed militants from Pakistan-based JeM on an army base in Uri on Sunday that killed 18 jawans.