Outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir both raising the Kashmir dispute and India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. The meetings formed part of Guterres’s three-day visit to Pakistan from October 6 to 8.

Munir received Guterres at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. According to a statement from Pakistan’s army, the two sides discussed regional security, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the Indus Waters Treaty, and terrorism emanating from Afghanistan. Guterres acknowledged Pakistan’s contributions to UN peacekeeping missions and its commitment to international peace and security.

Later, Sharif received Guterres in Islamabad. The prime minister called for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in line with UN resolutions and termed the Indus Waters Treaty a binding agreement, saying India’s move to hold it in abeyance had no legal basis. Sharif also highlighted Pakistan’s mediation role between the United States and Iran and backed Guterres’s UN80 reform initiative.

India put the treaty in abeyance after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. New Delhi maintains that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were, are and will always remain integral parts of India.