AKIPRESS.COM - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asked the UN Secretary General to play a proactive role in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

The prime minister was talking to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe on Tuesday where he is attending a conference on culmination of international decade of action on “Water for Life” 2005-15 and had a meeting with him on the sidelines of the conference.

Nawaz told the secretary general that Pakistan had a strong and steadfast relationship with the UN and the country highly appreciated Ban Ki-Moon’s leadership in advancing the key objectives of peace and development.

He said that support for peacekeeping missions was a strong element of Pakistan’s foreign policy. Pakistan has been among the top contributors to the UN’s peacekeeping operations and would continue to respond to calls for peacekeeping, he said, report Pakistani media on Tuesday.

Talking about Pakistan’s counter terrorism measures, the prime minister said the country had formulated a 20-point National Action Plan (NAP) adopting a policy of zero tolerance for and unflinching dedication towards countering this menace.

He reiterated to the Secretary General that the overriding foreign policy priority of his government is the establishment of a peaceful neighborhood, which is vital for the wellbeing and prosperity of the entire region.

To this end, he has reached out to all of Pakistan’s neighbours, including India and Afghanistan. He recalled his high-level meetings with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and said that their close cooperation as well as at other levels of Pakistan government with their Afghan counterparts had contributed to trust and confidence between the two states. The two countries are also closely cooperating on special measures to strengthen their bilateral ties in various spheres including economy, trade and counter terrorism, he added.

As regards India, the prime minister said there appeared to be no acknowledgement of the initiatives he had taken to promote a dialogue process with that country. In fact recent statements by the Indian leadership had been deeply disappointing, he said.

The prime minister urged the UN Secretary General to play a proactive role in promoting peace and normalization in the region. He stressed that it is incumbent on the UN Security Council to ensure early implementation of it’s commitment as reflected in the Security Council’s resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.

Ban Ki-Moon recalled his visit to Islamabad and spoke of his great admiration for the Prime Minister’s bold and far sighted policies. Federal Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Special Assistant to PM Syed Tariq Fatemi and additional Secretary Fawad Hasan Fawad were also present in the meeting.