The Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs embarked on discussions with senior Pakistani officials on Monday with the aim of media the growing tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi, after the tragic attack last month against tourists in the region administered by the cashmere of last month.
The trip from Abbas Araghchi to Islamabad marks the first visit of a foreign civil servant since the climbing of tensions after the massacre of April 22 which cost the lives of 26 individuals, mainly Indian Hindu tourists in Pahalgam.
Tehran proposed to help reduce tensions between nuclear neighbors.
Araghchi held separate meetings with Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who thanked him for his peace efforts. Araghchi should also visit India this week, according to the Pakistani media managed by the state.
Guterres requests a maximum deduction
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, also urged the two parties on Monday to exercise a restraint and make decisions that prioritize peace and human life. “Make no mistake: a military solution is not a solution,” he told journalists.
“It is now time to remember maximum and back from the edge,” said Guterres. “The United Nations is ready to support any initiative that promotes de -escalation, diplomacy and a renewed commitment to peace.”
Islamabad proposed to cooperate with an international survey. India has not accepted the offer so far, and several world leaders have urged the two parties to show restraint and avoid a new escalation.
Negotiation
Pakistan soldiers were on alert alert after the Minister of the Cabinet, Attaullah Tarar, cited information indicating that an Indian attack could be imminent.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in television remarks on Monday that Pakistan “will exercise total restraint, but if India will take an adventurous step, then we will give an appropriate response”.
According to a statement from the ministry, DAR, in talks with Araghchi, rejected what he described as India's attempts to involve Pakistan in the attack on cashmere.
“We will not be the first to cross a climbing measure,” said Dar, adding that he had warned the international community if there was “an act of aggression by India, Pakistan would resolutely defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity”.
He also accused the Indian Air Force of having tried to break the Pakistani airspace on April 29. Pakistan has scrambled the planes and forced Indian jets to go back, he said. There was no immediate comment from India on these statements.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Indian Foreign Ministry, Randir Jaiswal, wrote on X that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Monday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Pahalgam”.
The cashmere is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed by its entirety. The two countries fought two of their three wars in the Himalayan region and their links were shaped by conflicts, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicions, mainly on cashmere.
Activists of the part controlled by the Kashmir Indians are fighting against the reign of New Delhi since 1989. Many Muslim cashmiris support the objective of the territory rebels, either under the Pakistani domination, or as an independent country.
Additional sources • AP
