FM Qureshi apprises UN of India's warmongering threats against Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has written a letter to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres apprising him about threats of use of force against Pakistan by India. 

“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,” Shah Mahmood Qureshi told in his letter about the aggravating situation between the nuclear-armed neighbouring countries following the Pulwama attack.

Without carrying out any investigations, India has blamed Pakistan for the attack.

The Pulwama attack on Indian Central Reserve Police Force was ostensibly, and even by Indian accounts, carried out by a Kashmiri resident of Indian occupied Kashmir, the minister said adding that attributing it to Pakistan even before investigations was absurd.

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“For domestic political reasons, India has deliberately ratcheted up its hostile rhetoric against Pakistan and created a tense environment. It has also hinted that it may abandon the Indus Waters Treaty. This would be a grievous error,” he wrote.

The foreign minister asked the United Nations to step in to defuse tensions as it was imperative to take steps for de-escalation.

India must be asked to conduct an open and credible investigation on the Pulwama incident, he stressed.

“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,” FM Qureshi asked the UN secretary general.

He also requested to circulate the letter to members of the UN Security Council and General Assembly.

The Pulwama attack

On 14 February 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora in the Pulwama district of India-Ocuupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The attack resulted in the death of more than 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and the attacker. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. A local youth named Adil Ahmed Dar was identified as the attacker.

Indian media and politicians have since been blaming Pakistan for the attack without any evidence.