close
Friday March 29, 2024

UN chief calls on Pakistan, India to reduce tensions now

By Mariana Baabar
February 20, 2019

Ag Agencies

UNITED NATIONS: the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres Tuesday called on Pakistan and India to take "immediate steps" to de-escalate tensions between the two nations following the Pulwama terror attack, reiterating that his good offices are available if both sides ask.

The already sour relations between Pakistan and India have worsened over the past week as New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the Pulwama attack. Both countries have called back their envoys for “consultations.”

“The secretary general stresses the importance for both sides to exercise maximum restraint and take immediate steps to de-escalation, and his good offices are always available should both sides ask,” the UN chief’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Tuesday at the daily press briefing.

Dujarric was asked about a meeting Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN has sought with the secretary general and about Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi saying the UN must step in to defuse tensions between the nations.

“Looking at the situation in general between India and Pakistan, we are deeply concerned at the increasing tensions between the two countries in the wake of the attack on Indian security personnel on February 14 in Pulwama,” Dujrraic said.

Earlier, Pakistan reached out to the international community in a bid to avoid unrest and chaos in the region, saying it was seriously reviewing the emerging situation in which India is linking it to the Pulwama suicide bombing, and urged the leadership of BJP not to threaten regional peace and stability with the aim of furthering their political agenda.

Pakistan says it has also noted threats from India that it was ready to abandon the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

As India rejected Prime Minister Imran Khan’s offer of talks and investigations, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi asked the UN secretary general to step in to defuse tension, while Pakistan’s Ambassador in Afghanistan warned that peace talks between the United States and Afghan Taliban would be affected if India resorted to violence against Pakistan.

Qureshi also met with Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India, Sohail Mehmood, who was called back to Islamabad for consultations, and exchanged views on the overall security situation in the region, particularly regarding the context of India’s allegations against Pakistan.

As reports came in that France might move a proposal in the UN to proscribe JeM chief Masood Azhar, the Foreign Office said that Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua had met with French Ambassador Marc Barety to brief him on the grave human rights situation in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK). Later she also met with the German Ambassador Martin Kobler amidst reports that Amnesty International warned that India was at a very dangerous moment and authorities must do everything to uphold rule of law.

Qureshi in his letter to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that it was with a sense of urgency that he was drawing his attention to the deteriorating security situation in the region resulting from the threat of use of force against Pakistan by India.

“The Pulwama attack on Indian Central Reserve Police Force was ostensibly and even by Indian accounts carried out by a Kashmiri resident of Indian Occupied Kashmir. Attributing it to Pakistan even before investigations is absurd,” the foreign minister noted in the letter.

He pointed out that for domestic political reasons, India has deliberately ratcheted up its hostile rhetoric against Pakistan and created a tense environment. It has also hinted that it may abandon the IWT.

“This would be a grievous error,” he added, saying that it was imperative to take steps for de-escalation.

“The United Nations must step in to defuse tensions. India must be asked to conduct an open and credible investigation on Pulwama incident. You may also consider asking India to refrain from further escalating the situation and enter into dialogue with Pakistan and the Kashmiris to calm the situation down,” he noted.

Earlier, in a meeting with Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood, Qureshi said Pakistan wants regional peace as unrest and chaos will not serve anyone’s interests.

Tuesday also saw Special Secretary (Asia-Pacific) Imtiaz Ahmad summoning acting Indian High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia to lodge a strong protest against the anti-Pakistan demonstration on Monday, where protestors were allowed to reach and jolt the gate of the Pakistan House despite presence of Indian security officials.

“It was underscored that despite a strong protest to the Indian government, acts of harassment targeting the Pakistan High Commission, Pakistan House, and the officers/officials of the High Commission and their families continued, including abusive calls to the Pakistan High Commission helpline,” said the Foreign Office.

The special secretary reiterated Pakistan’s demand to the government of India for a comprehensive, immediate investigation of this serious breach of security, taking foolproof measures for safety and security of the Pakistan House, High Commission and its officers/officials and their families in New Delhi, and ensuring that such incidents do not recur.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Zahid Nasrullah said that peace talks between the United States and Afghan Taliban would be affected if India resorted to violence against Pakistan.