ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top diplomat at the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, briefed his counterparts from Arab nations about a recent military standoff with India and said Islamabad was committed to upholding a ceasefire and taking “all necessary steps” toward de-escalation, his office said on Tuesday.
Tensions surged between India and Pakistan after New Delhi accused Pakistan of supporting an Apr. 22 militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that left 26 dead. Islamabad has denied any involvement.
The tensions blew up into a full-on military conflict after India said it had hit “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan on May 7. What followed was four days of the two nuclear-armed neighbors pounding each other with drones, missiles and artillery, until the United States brokered a ceasefire on May 10.
“Ambassador Ahmad expressed Pakistan’s commitment to upholding the ceasefire and taking all necessary steps toward de-escalation and regional stability,” the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN said in a post on X following a meeting with Gulf nation counterparts.
“He informed the Arab Group that Pakistan’s response to the blatant act of aggression by India was measured and proportionate, in exercise of its right to self-defense under the Charter.”
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and frequently accuse each other of fomenting militancy in the other’s territory.
Kashmir, divided between the two countries since their independence from Britain in 1947, has been a flashpoint for decades, with the neighbors having fought two of their three wars over the region.
They both acquired nuclear weapons in 1998.
