Guterres praises Unmogip role in regional stability as India says mission has outlived its relevance
UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres visits the Unmogip headquarters in Islamabad. (Image courtesy: X/@antonioguterres)
New Delhi: The United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterres, on Tuesday, visited the Islamabad headquarters of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (Unmogip), praising personnel for working in what he called an “extremely sensitive political environment”. He said the mission played a “critical” role and thanked its personnel for contributing to regional stability.
The UN continues to maintain Unmogip as an active mission, while India has long maintained that it has outlived its relevance following the 1972 Simla Agreement and the establishment of the line of control (LoC).
In a post on X, Guterres described Unmogip as “unique and longstanding” and said its personnel work “day in and day out” in a sensitive setting. He also referred to “extremely testing times” faced by the mission and highlighted its visible presence on both sides of the LoC, including during the tensions of May 2025.
Unmogip traces its origins to January 1949, when the first UN military observers arrived to supervise the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in Jammu & Kashmir. Following the 1971 hostilities, the UN says its task has been to observe developments relating to the December 17, 1971 ceasefire, report to the secretary general and investigate alleged ceasefire violation complaints.
India says Unmogip’s role is redundant
India’s position is that Unmogip’s role became redundant after the Simla Agreement and the establishment of the LoC. New Delhi says the mission “has outlived its relevance”.
Under the July 2, 1972 Simla Agreement, India and Pakistan agreed to settle differences through bilateral negotiations or other peaceful means mutually agreed upon and to respect the LoC without seeking to alter it unilaterally.
The UN takes a different institutional position. It says that because India and Pakistan disagree over Unmogip’s mandate and functions, the mission can be terminated only by a security council decision.
Guterres arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday for a three-day official visit from October 6 to 8, with meetings scheduled with the country’s senior civilian and military leadership. Pakistan also raised Jammu & Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty during his talks in Islamabad, as RNA Media reported earlier.
At a joint press interaction with Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Guterres was also asked about UN security council resolutions on Jammu & Kashmir. He did not directly address the Kashmir specific part of the question, saying instead that disputes should be resolved through “peace and dialogue” and that his good offices remained available, before arguing that the security council faced problems of “legitimacy” and “effectiveness” because its composition no longer reflected the contemporary world.
