Islamabad:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to advise Delhi to act in a responsible manner and exercise restraint in the midst of current tensions, saying that India’s armaments of the Indus Basin was unacceptable for Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shehbaz had a telephone conversation with secretary general Guterres who focused on recent developments in South Asia. During the telephone call, Shehbaz said that Pakistan would defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity with full force in the event of a mishap of India.
Since last Tuesday, tensions have intensified between Pakistan and India after an attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Cashmere (Iiojk) which killed 26 tourists. Without providing any evidence, India had blamed Pakistan for the incident shortly after his presence.
During the telephone call, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and demonstrations, while highlighting the important sacrifices rendered by the country in the World War against Terrorism.
While rejecting the Indian accusations against Pakistan as foundation, the Prime Minister categorically rejected any attempt to link Pakistan to the pahalgam incident and reiterated his call for a transparent and neutral investigation into the incident.
The Prime Minister has expressed serious concerns about India’s attempts to delegitimize the fight for cashmere by using the Bogey of “terrorism”, and underlined the terrorism sponsored by the Indian State largely documented in IIOJK.
The Prime Minister told the UN chief that India’s armaments of India Water Basin was unacceptable, noting that water was the life buoy of 240 million Pakistani. He stressed that Pakistan defends its sovereignty and its territorial integrity in full force in the event of a mishap of India.
The Prime Minister encouraged the UN Secretary General to advise India to act in a responsible manner and to exercise restraint. He also urged the UN Secretary General to play his role for a fair resolution of the cashmere issue, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s unshakable commitment to promote international peace and security as a responsible member of the international community and non -permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
At the UN, a secretary general spokesman said Guterres had spoken separately with Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif and the Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. During conversations, the secretary general noted the importance of pursuing justice by legal means.
“The secretary general also expressed his deep concern in the face of the increase in tensions between India and Pakistan and underlined the need to avoid a confrontation that could lead to tragic consequences. He offered his good functions to support de-escalation efforts,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
In Washington, during this time, the spokesperson for the American State Department, Tammy Bruce, told journalists that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would urge his Indian and Pakistani counterparts not to degenerate, during his telephone calls in a day or two.
“The secretary plans to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India today or tomorrow,” said Bruce. “We hold the hands of both parties and we say, of course, not to degenerate the situation,” she added.
The spokesman said secretary Rubio also encouraged other foreign national leaders and ministers to also contact the two countries in South Asia in the middle of the tensions that have climbed between the arc rivals since last week.
Earlier, Great Britain – which houses one of the largest Indian and Pakistani communities in the world – called for calm between the Indian and Pakistani communities in London after the legislators expressed their concerns that tensions in the region can spread in the diaspora.
“These questions have long been discussed with passion in the British streets and we call both sides, all the leaders of the community, all involved to call for calm at a time of tension in the region,” said Foreign Minister Hamish Falconer, in Parliament.
When Falconer appeared in Parliament to answer an urgent question about the situation, legislators have raised concerns about media reports of bad moods outside of India and high commissions from Pakistan to London. Great Britain has updated its travel notice, advising all trips to cashmere.
(With agency entries)
