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Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to rally the international community for the prompt cessation of hostilities in Gaza<\/a>, emphasising that the lasting solution to the crises lies in a \u201ctwo-state solution,\u201d according to the military\u2019s media affairs wing.<\/p>\n The remarks were conveyed by the army chief during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.<\/p>\n This visit marks the army chief\u2019s inaugural trip to the United States since assuming<\/a> office in Nov 2022. During the ongoing visit, the COAS has met prominent government and military figures, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defence (retired) General Lloyd J. Austin, Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, Deputy National Security Adviser Jonathan Finer, and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown.<\/p>\n In a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) today, Gen Munir called on Guterres at the UN Headquarters in New York, where he was warmly welcomed.<\/p>\n The statement said the UN chief \u201cappreciated the contributions made by Pakistan Army and contingents of the law enforcement agencies who have remained committed to the peace and stability of the world\u201d.<\/p>\n In addressing the Gaza issue, the statement, which did not mention Israel, quoted the army chief as reaffirming Pakistan\u2019s stance on Palestine.<\/p>\n He urged the UNSG to mobilise the international community for an immediate halt to hostilities in Gaza, preventing a humanitarian tragedy. He also emphasised that a lasting solution lied in the two-state solution.<\/p>\n \u201cThe COAS particularly shared deep concerns over the plight of the innocent civilians who are being brutally targeted and are not being provided with sufficient humanitarian relief,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n Emphasising the Kashmir issue, Gen Munir stated that peace in South Asia would remain unattainable until a resolution aligns with UNSC resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.<\/p>\n He also condemned \u201cillegal Indian efforts<\/a> to change the status<\/a> of Jammu and Kashmir\u201d, deeming it a violation of UNSC resolutions.<\/p>\n Guterres acknowledged the concerns and thanked Gen Munir for the visit to the UN Headquarters, the statement added.<\/p>\n A Dawn<\/em> report<\/a> cited diplomatic sources as saying that \u2014 during the meeting with the UN chief \u2014 the COAS conveyed Pakistan\u2019s concerns over the situation in India-held Kashmir and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n Pakistan is particularly concerned about the Indian Supreme Court\u2019s decision<\/a> to endorse the merger of occupied Kashmir and wants the UN to fulfil its pledge to enable Kashmiris to decide their future through a plebiscite, it added.<\/p>\n