ISLAMABAD: UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with his Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad on Friday, a week after the country’s most serious military confrontation with India in decades.
The latest conflict between Pakistan and India had sparked global concerns that it could spiral into a full-blown war before a ceasefire was announced by United States President Donald Trump.
Lammy was received by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the Foreign Office, images broadcast by state television showed.
The United Kingdom was among several nations to urge de-escalation after last week’s clashes, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at the time that Britain was “urgently engaging” with both countries.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, separately visited both countries last week offering to mediate.
Pakistan military vows ‘brutal’ response to any Indian ceasefire violation
Fighting began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it called “terrorist camps” in Pakistan following an April attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) which killed 26 people.
New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the militants it claimed were behind the attack – the deadliest on civilians in IIOJK in decades. Pakistan denies the charge.
Four days of intense drone, missile and artillery exchanges ensued, leaving around 70 people, including dozens of civilians, dead on both sides.
Both Pakistan and India are members of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.