Pahalgam terror attack
United Nations, April 25: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following the situation between India and Pakistan “very closely and with very great concern” and appeals to both governments to exercise maximum restraint and ensure no further deterioration, his spokesperson said.
“We were very clear in our condemnation of the terror attack that occurred in Jammu and Kashmir, on the 22nd, two days ago, which killed a large number of civilians,” Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said at the daily press briefing Thursday.
Dujarric was responding to a question on whether Guterres has had any contact with the governments of India and Pakistan amid escalating tensions in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed.
He said Guterres has not had any direct contact, “but I can tell you he’s obviously following the situation very closely and with very great concern.” The secretary-general “very much” appeals to both the governments of India and Pakistan to “exercise maximum restraint and to ensure that the situation and the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate any further.
“Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully, through meaningful, mutual engagement,” Dujarric said.
Terrorists opened fire near Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on Tuesday, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the horrific terror attack.
On India’s decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, Dujarric said “I think this would go under the rubric of us appealing for maximum restraint and not taking any actions that would deteriorate the situation further or increase tensions in a tense area.” In a statement earlier this week, Guterres had strongly condemned the “armed attack” in Pahalgam. (PTI)
Pak Senate bins terror link charge
Islamabad, April 25: Amid Indo-Pakistan tensions, Pakistan’s Senate on Friday passed a resolution rejecting India’s “frivolous and baseless attempts” to link the country with the Pahalgam terror attack.
The attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar moved the resolution, which got across-the-board support from parties in the upper house of parliament.
“Pakistan remains fully capable and prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any aggression, including water terrorism or military provocation,” the resolution said.
The resolution, rejecting all “frivolous and baseless attempts” to link Pakistan with the attack, said killing innocent civilians was against the values upheld by Pakistan.
It condemned “the orchestrated and mala fide campaign by the Indian government to malign Pakistan, which follows a familiar pattern of exploiting the issue of terrorism for a narrow political goal.” The resolution also condemned India’s declaration to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and said the move amounted to “an act of war”. (PTI)