Sharif asserted that India's provocative behavior following the Jammu and Kashmir terrorist attack has escalated tensions and destabilized the South Asian region. He expressed his categorical rejection of any linkage to the attack without providing evidence, reiterating his call for a transparent and impartial international investigation.
In the same context, a statement issued by the Pakistani Prime Minister's Office stated that Sharif discussed recent developments in the region by phone with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Sharif expressed his appreciation for the United Nations' efforts to de-escalate tensions, reiterating his call for an impartial and credible investigation into the attack, and affirming his country's determination to vigorously defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated on April 22, after gunmen opened fire on tourists in the Pahalgam area of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people and wounding others.
Indian officials said the attackers "came from Pakistan," while Islamabad accused India of waging a disinformation campaign against it.
India decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, which divides the waters of the Indian subcontinent, following the attack and demanded that Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi leave the country within a week.
For its part, Pakistan denied India's accusations, restricted the number of Indian diplomatic personnel in Islamabad, declared that it would consider any interference with rivers outside the Indus Waters Treaty an "act of war," suspended all trade with India, and closed its airspace to India.
