UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to both India and Pakistan governments to exercise ‘maximum restraint’ to prevent further deterioration of the tense situation following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
“We very much appeal to both the governments of Pakistan and India to exercise maximum restraint, and to ensure that the situation and the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate any further,” Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, 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,” he said.
“Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement,” he said.
A front organisation of the internationally banned Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba has claimed responsibility for the attack in Pahalgam.
India on Wednesday suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, day after 26 people, including tourists, were gunned down in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
The move is among the five big punitive moves taken by New Delhi against Islamabad in the wake of the terror attacks.
The Indus Waters Treaty was signed on September 19, 1960. The pact was signed between India and Pakistan, with the World Bank brokering the agreement. The treaty withstood three wars between India and Pakistan – in 1965, 1971, and 1999, but is now suspended indefinitely.
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US President Donald Trump took to X and wrote: “The US stands strong with India against terrorism. Prime Minister Modi and the people of India have our full support and deepest sympathies.”
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X: “A heinous terrorist attack has struck India. We share the profound sorrow of the victims’ families, to whom I extend my heartfelt condolences.”