ISLAMABAD: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres mentioned mounting tensions between India and Pakistan on Friday as he warned that the world was living “in the shadow of nuclear catastrophe” that was fueled by growing distrust between nuclear-armed states.

Addressing a high-level meeting to commemorate the recent International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, he said that progress on ridding the world of nuclear weapons had stalled and was at risk of backsliding.

He also noted that strains between countries that possess nuclear weapons “have increased nuclear risks.”

Guterres expressed deep concern at the escalating disputes between the Trump administration and China. He also observed that relations between the United States and Russia were at a low point. Apart from citing these examples, he noted that South Asia’s nuclear rivals, India and Pakistan, were feuding over Kashmir, adding that India just had a border skirmish with China.

Without naming any countries, the UN chief said that programs to modernize nuclear arsenals “threaten a qualitative nuclear arms race,” not to increase the number of weapons but to make them “faster, stealthier and more accurate.”

Guterres observed that the only treaty constraining the size of the world’s largest nuclear arsenals — the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and Russia — was set to expire next year.

“It is imperative” that the two countries extend it without delay for the maximum five years, he said, warning that without a treaty there was an “alarming possibility of a return to unconstrained strategic competition.”

The secretary-general also said that the nuclear non-proliferation treaty or NPT, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, remained the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament and efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

Among the countries that addressed the gathering, India claimed that it had a longstanding commitment to nuclear disarmament through a step-by-step process. It also said that all states possessing nuclear weapons need to hold a “meaningful dialogue” to build trust and confidence.