Amid rising tensions in South Asia following the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday held separate telephonic conversations with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, strongly condemning the violence and calling for lawful accountability.
The outreach by the UN chief came as Pakistan alleged that India was planning imminent military action. In a post on X, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, claimed: “Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to carry out military action against Pakistan in the next 24–36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident.”
Reacting to the evolving situation, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shared on X that he had spoken with Guterres. “Had a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres this evening. I reaffirmed Pakistan’s condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, rejected baseless Indian accusations, and called for a transparent and neutral investigation into the Pahalgam incident. I urged the UN to play its role in resolving the Jammu & Kashmir dispute in line with UNSC resolutions. Pakistan remains committed to peace, but will defend its sovereignty with full force if challenged,” Sharif wrote.
In his conversation with Jaishankar, the UN Secretary-General reiterated his “strong condemnation” of the Pahalgam attack. Guterres emphasised the importance of “pursuing justice and accountability for these attacks through lawful means,” as confirmed by his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric at the daily press briefing.
S. Jaishankar, acknowledging the call, said on X: “Received a call from @UN SG @antonioguterres. Appreciate his unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Agreed on the importance of accountability. India is resolved that the perpetrators, planners and backers of this attack are brought to justice.”
