UN Sec Gen Antonio Guterres welcomes India, Pakistan ceasefire announcement
United Nations, May 10 (PTI): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, describing it as a “positive step” toward ending current hostilities and easing tensions.
Guterres “hopes the agreement will contribute to lasting peace and foster an environment conducive to addressing broader, longstanding issues between the two countries”, a statement issued by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said.
The UN chief “welcomes the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan as a positive step toward ending current hostilities and easing tensions”, it said.
The United Nations stands ready to support efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability in the region, the statement added.
The ceasefire came hours after India and Pakistan attacked each other’s military facilities, dangerously escalating the ongoing conflict.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said India and Pakistan have agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night of talks mediated by Washington”.
“After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE. Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that over the past 48 hours, Vice President J D Vance and he engaged with senior Indian and Pakistani officials, “including Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, and National Security Advisors Ajit Doval and Asim Malik”.
“I am pleased to announce the Governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire and to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site,” he said.
“We commend Prime Ministers Modi and Sharif on their wisdom, prudence, and statesmanship in choosing the path of peace,” Rubio said.
“India and Pakistan have today worked out an understanding on stoppage of firing and military action,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a social media post.
The announcement came days after India carried out Operation Sindoor striking nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir to avenge the Pahalgam attack. Since the operation, Pakistan targeted various Indian military installations without success.
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7 held for running fake call centre in South Kolkata
Kolkata (PTI): Seven people were arrested from the Parnashree area in the southern part of the city for allegedly running a fake call centre, a police officer said on Saturday.
Acting on a tip-off, police raided a house on Netaji Subhas Road on Friday night and found the fake call centre operating from the ground floor, he said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had set up a bogus company using forged documents and posed as employees of an antivirus firm to call citizens in the US, the officer said.
"The callers would gain the trust of victims and then use remote access to take control of their phones or other digital devices. The accused allegedly siphoned off large sums of money, running into millions of dollars, from victims' accounts," he said.
Five laptops, two WiFi routers, six mobile phones and four headsets were seized from the accused, he said, adding that the seven are being questioned to ascertain the full extent of the racket and to identify others involved.
