The United Nations Security Council late on Thursday condemned the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 soldiers last week, reports said. The statement, accessed by The Hindu, named Masood Azhar’s Jaish-e-Mohammad, which had claimed responsibility for the attack.

“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in over 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility,” the UNSC said in a press statement. The UNSC includes China, which as repeatedly blocked efforts to list Masood Azhar a terrorist at the United Nations.

The council said that they emphasised the need to hold “perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice”. It also “urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of India and all other relevant authorities in this regard”.

“The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” the council said. It also expressed its sympathy and “deepest condolences” to the families of the victims, the Indian people and the government, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those injured. The statement, however, does not name Pakistan.

The UNSC’s statement comes a day after Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met senior United Nations officials including with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council President Anatolio Ndong Mba to apprise them of rising tensions with India, PTI reported.

Guterres on Wednesday had also issued a statement, calling for the perpetrators of the attack to be penalised, though he advised restraint. He had earlier too advised de-escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan. He asked for resolution of the matter through “meaningful mutual engagement”.


India-Pakistan ties

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday announced that India has decided to stop its share of water that used to flow to Pakistan. However, soon after Gadkari’s statement, a Water Resources ministry official clarified that this was not a new decision and that the minister was “simply reiterating” what he has always said.

India had earlier said that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to condemn the Pulwama attack. The government had also said that Khan’s claim that Pakistan will investigate the attack if proof is provided was a “lame excuse”.

Khan had claimed that New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for the attack without any evidence.

A day after the attack, India had revoked Pakistan’s Most Favoured Nation tag, and said it would isolate Islamabad globally. Islamabad has refuted allegations that it was connected with the attack.