United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres held separate phone conversations on Tuesday with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, as tensions between the two countries escalated following a deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam region.
The diplomatic outreach came amid Islamabad’s claim of possessing “credible intelligence” indicating a possible Indian military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours.
Guterres condemned the April 22 attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people—most of them tourists—and voiced alarm over the growing instability between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
During both conversations, the UN chief emphasized the importance of ensuring justice and accountability for the Pahalgam incident through legal and peaceful means, according to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
Guterres also expressed his “deep concern at the rising tensions” and reiterated the UN’s willingness to assist in de-escalation efforts through its “good offices.”
