ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan has asked the United Nations to take an immediate step to defuse its tensions with India, and urged New Delhi to rather initiate the negotiation process with Islamabad, the Dispatch News Desk (DND) news agency reported.
“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,” the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in his letter written to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
The foreign minister said that the Pulwama attack on Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was ostensibly and even by Indian accounts carried out by a Kashmiri resident of Indian Occupied Kashmir. Attributing it to Pakistan even before investigations is absurd, he said.
Qureshi further said that for domestic political reasons, India has deliberately ratcheted up its hostile rhetoric against Pakistan and created a tense environment. It has also hinted, he added, that it may abandon the Indus Waters Treaty. This would be a grievous error.
“It is imperative to take steps for de-escalation. The United Nations must step in to defuse tensions,” he said.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that India must be asked to conduct an open and credible investigation on Pulwama incident.
“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.
I request that this letter be circulated to members of the Security Council and General Assembly,” the foreign minister wrote in his letter.
