ISLAMABAD – UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called onIndia and Pakistan to take immediate steps to defuse tensions and offeredto help broker a solution if both sides agree to UN mediation.
The two countries have been locked in a diplomatic clash following asuicide attack on February 14 in India-administered Kashmir that killed 40Indian security personnel, triggering counter-operations by Indian forcesin the area.
“We are deeply concerned at the increasing tensions between the twocountries,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Guterres “stresses the importance of both sides to exercise maximumrestraint and take immediate steps” to de-escalate, while also offering tomediate “should both sides ask,” said Dujarric.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi appealed to Guterres tostep in to defuse tensions, in a letter seen by AFP.
“It is imperative to take steps for de-escalation. The United Nations muststep in to defuse tensions,” said the letter sent on Monday.
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The attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed, but the foreign ministerinsisted that “attributing it to Pakistan even before investigations isabsurd.”
In response to the rising tensions, France was considering a new push atthe Security Council to place Masood Azhar, the leader of JeM, on the UNterror list, but faced opposition from China, diplomats said.
China has twice blocked — in 2016 and 2017 — attempts to put the JeM leaderon the blacklist. The group itself was added to the terror list in 2001. -APP/AFP
