Pak seeks urgent UN intervention to de-escalate fresh tensions with Ind

Shah Mahmood Qureshi

Islamabad: Pakistan has sought the UN's urgent intervention to "defuse tensions" with India, the Foreign Office said Tuesday, following one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in which over 40 Indian soldiers were killed. On February 14, at least 41 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Kashmir's Pulwama district in a suicide attack claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group.

The attack has heightened bilateral tensions with both New Delhi and Islamabad calling back their envoys. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, seeking his help to reduce the tensions between the two countries, Pakistan Foreign Office said.

"It is with a sense of urgency that I draw your attention to the deteriorating security situation in our region resulting from the threat of use of force against Pakistan by India," Qureshi wrote in the letter. India has rejected any third party intervention in the Kashmir issue and has maintained that all outstanding matters in Indo-Pak ties should be resolved bilaterally. Qureshi, in his letter, said the Pulwama attack on Indian CRPF soldiers was ostensibly and even by Indian accounts carried out by a Kashmiri resident.

He said attributing the attack to Pakistan even before investigations was absurd. He alleged that for domestic political reasons, India deliberately ratcheted up its hostile rhetoric against Pakistan and created a tense environment. Qureshi wrote that India has also hinted that it may abandon the Indus Waters Treaty, asserting that it would be a grievous error. "It is imperative to take steps for de-escalation. The United Nations must step in to defuse tensions," Qureshi said. He said India must be asked to conduct an open and credible investigation in the terror attack.

"You may also consider asking India to refrain from further escalating the situation and enter into dialogue with Pakistan and the Kashmiris to calm the situation down," he wrote. The foreign minister requested that the letter should be circulated to members of the Security Council and General Assembly. Pakistan has repeatedly asked the UN to intervene in Kashmir. Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had also sought the US' intervention, saying America was the "most relevant" party to get involved in Kashmir issue. The US, however, has time and again reiterated that it is for India and Pakistan to discuss and decide on the pace and scope of their bilateral relationship.

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