Ceasefire agreement reflects India, Pakistan commitment to regional peace: UNGA president

United Nations, May 11 (IANS) United Nations General Assembly President Philemon Yang has said the cease-fire agreement between India and Pakistan reflects their commitment to regional peace.

Welcoming the ceasefire, he said on Saturday, "It is a meaningful step towards de-escalation reflecting the commitment of both nations to regional peace and stability."

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sees the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan as a "positive step" towards easing tensions and hopes it will contribute to "lasting peace," according to his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

India and Pakistan reached a cease-fire agreement on Saturday. However, hours after the agreement, Pakistan violated the ceasefire.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the Indian armed forces have been responding adequately to the ceasefire violations.

Speaking at a press briefing, Misri said the government has taken a serious note of the Pakistani actions. “This is a breach of understanding. The army is monitoring the situation closely,” he said.

He informed that the agreement to halt the ongoing hostilities over the past few days was reached this evening. However, in the past few hours, there have been serious violations of this agreement from the Pakistani side.

Notably, India launched 'Operation Sindoor' on Wednesday, targeting "terrorist infrastructures" in retaliation against last month's killing of 26 people in the Kashmir tourist spot Pahalgam by The Resistance Front, an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.

While the tension was mounting last week, Guterres had expressed deep concern over the conflict, saying, "The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan."

He repeatedly asked for de-escalating the conflict, including by holding a meeting with reporters exclusively on the subject.

While many international leaders, including the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, were calling both Indian and Pakistani leaders to de-escalate the conflict, Guterres' Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said , "We encourage all efforts to de-escalate the situation."

Guterres has condemned the Pahalgam terrorist massacre in the strongest terms several times.

He said, "Targeting civilians is unacceptable -- and those responsible must be brought to justice through transparent, credible, and lawful means."

--IANS

arul/svn