UN chief calls on India, Pak to take 'immediate steps' to defuse tensions

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Tuesday called on India and Pakistan to take "immediate steps" to de-escalate tensions between the two nations following the Pulwama terror attack, reiterating that his good offices are available if both sides ask.

The already sour relations between India and Pakistan have worsened over the past week as New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the Pulwama attack by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Both countries have called back their envoys for "consultations."

The Secretary General stresses the importance for both sides to exercise maximum restraint and take immediate steps to de-escalation, and his good offices are always available should both sides ask, the UN chief's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Tuesday at the daily press briefing.

Dujarric was asked about a meeting Pakistan's Permanent Mission to the UN has sought with the Secretary General and about Pakistani Foreign Minister ..