Pahalgam attack: UN chief Guterres urges India, Pakistan to exercise 'maximum restraint'
United Nations (PTI): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following the situation between India and Pakistan “very closely and with very great concern” and appeals to both governments to exercise maximum restraint and ensure no further deterioration, his spokesperson said.
“We were very clear in our condemnation of the terror attack that occurred in Jammu and Kashmir, on the 22nd, two days ago, which killed a large number of civilians,” Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said at the daily press briefing Thursday.
Dujarric was responding to a question on whether Guterres has had any contact with the governments of India and Pakistan amid escalating tensions in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed.
He said Guterres has not had any direct contact, “but I can tell you he's obviously following the situation very closely and with very great concern.”
The secretary-general “very much" appeals to both the governments of India and Pakistan to “exercise maximum restraint and to ensure that the situation and the developments we've seen do not deteriorate any further.
"Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully, through meaningful, mutual engagement,” Dujarric said.
Terrorists opened fire near Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on Tuesday, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the horrific terror attack.
On India’s decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, Dujarric said “I think this would go under the rubric of us appealing for maximum restraint and not taking any actions that would deteriorate the situation further or increase tensions in a tense area.”
In a statement earlier this week, Guterres had strongly condemned the “armed attack” in Pahalgam.
He offered his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the victims. “The Secretary-General stresses attacks against civilians are unacceptable under any circumstances,” Dujarric said.
Meanwhile, at another event hosted by India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, President of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly Philemon Yang said, “At the outset, I wish to convey my sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the recent attack in Jammu and Kashmir."
The targeting of civilians is unacceptable and cannot be justified under any circumstances, Yang said.
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'Operation Sindoor' Bharat's response to brutal killing of innocent people in Pahalgam: Amit Shah
New Delhi (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the 'Operation Sindoor' is Bharat's response to the brutal killings of innocent people in Pahalgam.
Shah's remarks came after Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke. The strike was codenamed as 'Operation Sindoor'.
The home minister said the Modi government is resolved to give a befitting response to any attack on India and its people and Bharat remains firmly committed to eradicating terrorism from its roots.
"Proud of our armed forces. #OperationSindoor is Bharat’s response to the brutal killing of our innocent brothers in Pahalgam," he wrote on 'X'.
The Indian strike was carried out in response to the April 22 terrorists attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam where 26 people were killed.
