Ban's office denies Kashmir remark, role of Pak-origin spokesperson under scanner
The role of the Pakistani-origin spokesperson of UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-Moon has come under scanner with the denial of the UN chief's controversial remarks on Kashmir by his office.
Spokesperson Mr Farhan Haq e-mailed a statement to journalists at the UN headquarters in New York last week stating that Mr Ban “is concerned over the prevailing security situation” in “Indian-administered Kashmir”. This was a reference to the turmoil in the Kashmir valley in which a number of lives have been lost.
Mr Haq went on to say that the Secretary-General called on “all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and address problems peacefully.” Concerned over the gratuitous remarks, which were seen as a departure from diplomatic norms,
India took up the matter through its mission to the UN.
The ministry of external affairs said in a statement here today that
Mr Ban's office has clarified that no question about Kashmir was raised at any Press conference “nor was any such comment made by the UN Secretary General.”
This denial also applies to another part of Mr Haq's statement which talked about Secretary-General's backing the resumption of composite dialogue between Indian and Pakistan which New Delhi does not favour unless Islamabad addresses the issue of terrorism.
The denial flies in the face of Mr Haq's statement which said: “He (Ban) encourages both sides to rekindle the spirit of composite dialogue which was initiated in 2004 and had made encouraging progress on some important confidence building measures, and to make renewed efforts to address outstanding issues, including on Jammu and Kashmir.”
Diplomatic observers here were of the view that either Mr Haq had issued an unauthorised statement or Mr Ban's office was backtracking in the face of Indian reaction.
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MOD EDIT: Adding UN response to comments in Indian media attacking Mr. Haq:
An extraordinary attack on the Indian media and defence of Pakistani-origin aide of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon marked another round of the raging row over Kashmir at the world body's headquarters here.
Ban's chief spokesperson Martin Nesirky defended his colleague Farhan Haq, associate spokesman, who is in the centre of the controversy, against attacks in the Indian press that suggested Haq was responsible for the remarks concerning the violence in Kashmir, which came out of the United Nations on July 28.
Nesirky also slammed the Indian press for suggesting Haq's "ethnicity" as a possible motivation for the remarks on Kashmir, which New Delhi has strongly objected to. Haq is an American citizen born in Washington DC with roots in Pakistan.
"I won't tolerate insults being directed against my colleagues," a visibly agitated Nesirky told journalists at the regular briefing at the UN.
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"I really take exception to the insinuations based on ethnicity that I've seen in Indian publications. I firmly reject them," he said. "Not only are they offensive, they are wrong."
The e-mail containing controversial remarks was originally sent out by Haq to journalists of three Pakistani publications who had been asking questions about Kashmir since the unrest mounted after June 11 when a 17-year-old student died after being hit by a teargas shell fired by police during a protest.
The remarks noted that the Secretary General called on "all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and address problems peacefully" and he "encourages both sides to rekindle the spirit of the composite dialogue".
Following protests by the Indian government, the UN backtracked from the statement and described it as a "media guidance" and not a "statement by the Secretary General."
Nesirky clarified that the "media guidance" was prepared by the UN Secretariat and only distributed by the UN spokeperson's office. Haq, however, has been slammed by the Indian media for his role in the passage of controversial e-mail.
Nesirky singled out a leading business daily from Delhi which ran a story "Pakistan man concocted UN Secretary General's J&K remark" and said he had written to its Editor pointing out that the media guidance was "not prepared or concocted in his office" but instead reiterated that it had come from the UN Secretariat.
"I reject absolutely any insinuation in this direction," the spokesperson said. "Its just plain wrong and it is offensive."
Nesirky, however, did not offer any comment when asked by a Western correspondent about the role of Ban's chief of staff and former Indian diplomat, Vijay Nambiar, in the issuing of the original remarks and its later withdrawal.
"No I can't (comment)," he said, even as Western correspondents have quoted sources as saying that Nambiar had approved the statement before it went out in July.
New Delhi has taken offence to both parts of the statement -- the first, which calls for exercise of restraint in Kashmir and the second that touches on India-Pakistan peace negotiations.
The Indian government has asserted that these remarks have been seized upon by separatists and Pakistan to back their cause.
For instance, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, this week, cited Ban's remarks as reflecting the "collective concern of the international community at the human rights violations" in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Indian sides also insisted that the remarks were made in complete disregard to the Indian position that the composite dialogue can only be renewed after Pakistan prosecutes the terrorists who were responsible for the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
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Indian Media exposed yet again.
