India, Pak should resolve K-issue through talks: Ban

Following his election as Secretary-General of the UN for a second term, Ban indicated he was willing to help India and Pakistan find a solution to the Kashmir issue.

"I will have opportunities in the future as in the past... I will discuss the matter with leaders of both India and Pakistan, how we can help or how this issue could resolved peacefully through dialogue," Ban told a press conference here yesterday.

Earlier this year, India and Pakistan agreed to resume their comprehensive dialogue.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is in Islamabad for two-day talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir, during which the two sides are expected to discuss a number of issues including Kashmir.

Ban said he was aware of the ongoing talks on Kashmir and he urged both countries to resolve the issue peacefully.

"I am aware of the positions of both India and Pakistan, and India and Pakistan leaders," Ban said in response to a question from PTI.

"I understand there is going to be one (meeting) soon... All these issues should be resolved peacefully through dialogue between the two governments," he said.

Ban also said that the UN Security Council reform, being debated since two decades, is "too long overdue" and the necessary expansion must be made considering how much the world has changed.

"It has been too long overdue," he said.