Pakistan to allow UN body to visit Kashmir areas

Islamabad, Aug 18 (IANS) Pakistan said on Thursday it will allow the UN to send a team to its part of Kashmir, days after India turned down a request by the UN rights council to travel to Jammu and Kashmir to investigate alleged rights violations.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had written to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHRC) Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein to "end the persistent and egregious violation of basic human rights of the Kashmiri people".

An all-party meeting in New Delhi presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week dismissed the UNHRC's request to visit Kashmir.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakariya told a weekly briefing that Pakistan welcomes "Any UN team that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights may wish to send to AJK (Azad Jammu and Kashmir)".

The spokesman said Kashmir area governed by Pakistan "is an area open to everyone and is frequented by foreign tourists and members of the diplomatic community in Pakistan, including representatives of the UN".