UN urged to prevent Delhi from escalation
Shehbaz Sharif
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to counsel Delhi to act responsibly and exercise restraint amid the ongoing tensions, asserting that India's weaponisation of the waters of the Indus Basin was unacceptable to Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shehbaz held a telephone conversation with Secretary-General Guterres which focused on recent developments in South Asia. During the telephone call, Shehbaz said that Pakistan would defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force in case of any misadventure by India.
Since last Tuesday, tensions have escalated between Pakistan and India after an attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) that killed 26 tourists. Without providing any evidence, India had blamed Pakistan for the incident shortly after it occurred.
During the telephone call, the prime minister affirmed that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, while highlighting the significant sacrifices rendered by the country in the global war against terrorism.
While rejecting Indian accusations against Pakistan as baseless, the prime minister categorically rejected any attempt to link Pakistan with the Pahalgam incident and reiterated his call for a transparent and neutral investigation into the incident.
The prime minister expressed serious concerns over India's attempts to delegitimise the Kashmiri freedom struggle by using the bogey of 'terrorism', and highlighted the widely-documented Indian state-sponsored terrorism in IIOJK.
The prime minister told the UN chief that India's weaponisation of the waters of the Indus Basin was unacceptable, noting that water was the lifeline of 240 million Pakistanis. He underscored that Pakistan shall defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force in case of any misadventure by India.
The prime minister encouraged the UN secretary-general to counsel India to act responsibly and exercise restraint. He also urged the UN secretary-general to play his role for a just resolution of the Kashmir issue, in accordance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council.
The prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan's unwavering commitment towards fostering international peace and security as a responsible member of the international community and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
At the UN, a spokesperson for the secretary-general said that Guterres spoke separately with Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif and India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. During the conversations, the secretary-general noted the importance of pursuing justice through lawful means.
"The Secretary-General also expressed his deep concern at rising tensions between India and Pakistan and underscored the need to avoid a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences. He offered his Good Offices to support de-escalation efforts," said spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
In Washington, meanwhile, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would urge his Indian and Pakistani counterparts not to escalate, in his telephone calls within a day or two.
"The secretary expects to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow," Bruce said. "We are reaching out to both parties and telling, of course, them to not escalate the situation," she added.
The Spokesperson stated that Secretary Rubio was also encouraging other national leaders and foreign ministers to also reach out to the two South Asian countries amid tensions that have soared between the arch-rivals since last week.
Earlier, Britain – home to one of the world's biggest Indian and Pakistani communities – called for calm between Indian and Pakistani communities in London after lawmakers voiced concerns that the tensions in the region could spill into the diaspora.
"These issues have long been discussed with passion on British streets and we call on the two sides, all community leaders, all involved to call for calm at a time of tension in the region," Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer told parliament.
When Falconer appeared in parliament to answer an urgent question on the situation, lawmakers raised concerns about media reports of ill-tempered protests outside India and Pakistan's high commissions in London. Britain has updated its travel advisory, advising against all travel to Kashmir.
(WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCIES)