UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on India and Pakistan to avoid military confrontation, warning that escalating tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours could spiral out of control.
Mr Guterres urged "maximum restraint" and advised both countries to "step back from the brink" after a terrorist attack on a tourist site in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“A military solution is no solution," he told reporters at UN headquarters. “It pains me to see relations reaching a boiling point." He offered the UN’s “good offices” to both governments in the “service of peace”.
Relations between the South Asian rivals have deteriorated to their worst level in years, with recent clashes raising fears of broader conflict.
Mr Guterres called for dialogue over confrontation: “The United Nations stands ready to support any initiative that promotes de-escalation, diplomacy, and a renewed commitment to peace."
New Delhi blames Pakistan for the attack on civilians at the tourist site of Pahalgam on April 22. The incident led both India and Pakistan to issue heated threats and diplomatic action.
Pakistan has denied any role in the massacre of 26 mostly Indian tourists and offered to co-operate with an international investigation. India has so far not accepted the offer and several world leaders have urged both sides to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation.
After an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Pakistani ambassador to the UN Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told reporters that his country had gone to the council with a “message of peace, not provocation, but peace does not happen in vacuum".
But Mr Ahmad said lasting peace and stability in South Asia cannot be sustained through unilateralism. He called on the Security Council to implement its own resolutions, including a UN-supervised plebiscite to allow Kashmiris to determine their own future.
Islamabad on Monday said it had conducted a second missile test, this time a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 120km.
Also on Monday, India's army said its troops had exchanged gunfire with Pakistani soldiers overnight across the Line of Control in several sites. It said such exchanges have taken place every night since April 24.
