Guterres said in Islamabad that he was concerned over the situation in Kashmir, and that he was ready to mediate between India and Pakistan to resolve the long pending issue.
India has not been engaging with Pakistan since an attack on the air force base at Pathankot in January of 2016 by Pakistan-based terrorists, maintaining that talks and terror cannot go together.
The diplomatic efforts by China indicate dousing tensions between India and Pakistan, but the central issue, counter-terrorism, may take a back seat.
China Thursday offered to play a 'constructive role' to ease tension between Pakistan and Iran following their missile strikes against each other over the last two days and asked the two countries to 'exercise restraint and calmness and avoid escalation'.
The don was renamed as Prakashanand Giri by the seers who introduced themselves as being associated with the Panch Dashnam Juna Akhara, headquartered in Haridwar and has its ashrams in the Kumaon region.
'A less tense US-China relationship would make Beijing less likely to provoke India -- including on the border -- in retaliation for its close defence ties with the US.'
Any settlement with Pakistan won't last unless it comes with big power guarantees, says Shekhar Gupta.
Khan, who was accompanied by Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi among others, was greeted by Trump upon his arrival at the White House.
The Uttarakhand government on Sunday ordered an inquiry into the matter of underworld don Prakash Pandey alias PP being given the title of Mahant in Almora jail.
'When the decision was announced, the possibilities of cross border infiltration and terrorism, we know that there would be incitement to violence. We have simply taken preventive steps'
'Is Trump going to play a mediating role? Can he play a mediating role? It's out of the question.' 'Kashmir is an Indian responsibility.'
Describing himself as "an extremely good arbitrator", Trump on Monday said he was ready to mediate between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir issue if both sides agree to it.
Boycotting the Champions Trophy will not tackle the issue we have with Pakistan, points out Aakar Patel.
The defence minister said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was present at the Trump-Modi meeting held on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Osaka and his statement is the "most authentic" on the issue.
The solution to Manipur's problems lies in the government giving concessions to Meitis in jobs and education and to accept autonomy for the tribal dominated areas inhibited by the Kukis, suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
"We are capable of properly resolving the issues between us through dialogue and consultation. We do not need the intervention of the third party", he said.
The 70-year-old real estate tycoon had last month described tensions between India and Pakistan as a "very, very hot tinderbox" and offered to be "the mediator or arbitrator" if it was necessary and if the two countries wanted him to, following which the Foreign Office had welcomed such an offer.
Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar sprung a surprise saying there was no need for third party mediation in Kashmir.
The former external affairs minister said, ""It was a problem of communication. But diplomacy is all about communication and if you are not able to communicate properly, what kind of diplomacy you are having."
Ruling out any American mediation on the Kashmir issue, US President Barack Obama has said dialogue is the best way to reduce tension between India and Pakistan.
The US president previously offered to mediate between India and Pakistan, a proposal rejected by New Delhi which maintains that there is no role for any third party in bilateral issues.
President-elect Barack Obama has been told to refrain from promoting the idea of direct US mediation between India and Pakistan over Kashmir by senior American analysts, who say any such move could backfire.Such a mediation "could backfire by raising unrealistic expectations for a favourable settlement among Pakistanis, thereby fuelling Islamabad's support for militants in hopes of pushing a hard-line agenda," stated analysts Lisa Curtis and Walter Lohman.
'Modi, with his sharply honed political savvy and undoubted grasp of international affairs, is a past master at taking the measure of world leaders.' 'He would be the last person to think of the unpredictable and not too well-regarded Trump as the mediator,' says B S Raghavan.
Trump said the tensed situation also has a lot to do with religion. "It's a complicated situation. A lot has to do with religion. Religion is a complicated subject," he said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has once again urged the United States and other major countries to mediate between India and Pakistan, in order to resolve long pending issues between them, so as to enable Islamabad to focus on the war against terrorism and militancy.Talking to a visiting US parliamentary delegation led by Senator Thomas Carper, Gilani, without mentioning Kashmir, asserted that Pakistan wants a peaceful resolution of all the core issues.
In retrospect, it appeared that the bitterness of the war was still strong and the Ukrainian success in occupying Russian territory just a few days ago had added to the complexity of the situation. The positive US response to the visit, however, remains a silver lining in the dark clouds, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
"On Kashmir as I said, we would all like to see improved relations between India and Pakistan."
The foreign ministry's statement came amidst the reported visit of Foreign Minister Sun Weidong to Pakistan on a mediation mission.
It voiced optimism over the outcome of the three-day talks with Pakistan.
Ahead of the key strategic dialogue with Pakistan, the Obama administration on Wednesday shot down Islamabad's plea to help it resume peace talks with India and mediate on key disputes with New Delhi on issues including Kashmir.
'When a third party intervenes, the parties to the dispute do not conduct the dialogue with sincerity and hence the grouses remain,' Syed Nazir Ahmad Kashani said.
The World Bank's move came as it told the two countries that it was responding to their separate proceedings initiated under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960.
The United States has rejected Pakistan's request to mediate between it and India to help both resolve outstanding issues, including Kashmir and the river water sharing dispute. During a joint media interaction with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that Washington would continue with its "hands off" policy concerning the Indo-Pak impasse.
Supporting the India-Pakistan talks and peace process, he said dialogue was imperative but there should be the world community's involvement at a certain level to reach a solution acceptable to all the parties concerned.
Hakimullah Mehsud-led Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan believes that since all decisions of the Pakistani government are influenced by the army, his organization will only talk with negotiators who represent the military and not the government. Tahir Ali reports
The Pakistani president asked his Iranian counterpart to convince the Indian leadership to solve the Kashmir issue on the basis of the 'wishes of the Kashmiri people'.
Outgoing US ambassador to India Robert D Blackwill said, 'There will be no American roadmaps. No American gameplan. No American substantive proposals.'
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said the US would support all efforts for the early resumption of the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan, as she responded to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's call for US meditation in resolving outstanding issues like Kashmir.
The timing of these transfers, while being projected as routine, is significant in both strategic and political terms, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
According to Pakistan, India will violate the Indus Water Treaty by constructing a hydropower project on Chenab.
