Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said Pakistan would defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force in case of any misadventure by India, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said, as tensions between the two neighbouring countries rise after a deadly attack in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Twenty-six people were killed and 17 were injured when gunmen opened fire at tourists in IIOJK, for which India blames Pakistan, while Islamabad denies any involvement. The attack took place in a meadow in the Pahalgam area, and the dead included 25 Indians and one Nepalese national. The attack led to a rise in tensions between Pakistan and India, followed by New Delhi suspending Indus Waters Treaty and Islamabad closing airspace for Indian flights. The United Nations (UN) urged India and Pakistan to show “maximum restraint” as the nuclear-armed rivals imposed tit-for-tat diplomatic measures over a deadly shooting in IIOJK Pahalgam. On Tuesday, PM Shehbaz had a telephone conversation with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, this evening, which focused on recent developments in South Asia, the PMO said. “While underscoring that Pakistan shall defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force in case of any misadventure by India, the prime minister encouraged the UN Secretary-General to counsel India to act responsibly and exercise restraint,” it said. During the call, the prime minister affirmed that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, while highlighting the sacrifices rendered by the country in the global war against terror. PM Shehbaz rejected any attempt to link Pakistan with the Pahalgam incident and reiterated his call for a transparent and neutral investigation into the incident. Moreover, the prime minister expressed concerns over “India’s attempts to delegitimise the Kashmiri freedom struggle by using the bogey of terrorism, as well as its widely documented state-sponsored terrorism in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir”. He highlighted India’s weaponisation of the waters of the Indus Basin as unacceptable, while noting that water was the lifeline of 240 million people. “Prime minister emphasised that the unresolved issue of Jammu & Kashmir remained the root cause of instability in South Asia, and urged the UN Secretary- General to play his role for its just resolution, in accordance with relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.” “The UN Secretary-General appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for peace in South Asia and said that the world could not afford any escalation in the region at crucial time,” the PMO said. Separately, the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations on Tuesday said the country had “credible evidence” proving that the Jaffer Express attack was “externally sponsored by its regional adversaries”, according to a press release. During the launch of the “Victims of Terrorism Association Network” by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism at the UN headquarters in New York, Jawad Ajmal, a counsellor at the Pakistan Mission, expressed concern at the loss of tourist lives int he recent Pahalgam attack, and extended “heartfelt condolences to the near ones of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery.” According to the press release, Ajmal said that Pakistan possessed “credible evidence establishing that the attack on the Jaffer Express passenger train – in which at least 30 innocent Pakistani nationals were killed and dozens taken hostage – was externally sponsored by its regional adversaries.” He noted that Pakistan joined fellow UN Security Council members in condemning the attack. The counsellor further said that Pakistan had been one of the worst victims of terrorism for over two decades. With the loss of more than 80,000 lives and thousands more injured, Pakistan remains inspired by the resilience and strength of its nation. He underscored the need for collective action to prevent future attacks, calling for holding terrorists and their handlers accountable and adopting a “uniform, victim-centric approach”. “If we are to chart a way forward for victims, we must look beyond narrow political interests and geopolitical agendas. We must examine why, despite global strategies, terrorism threats continue to proliferate and give rise to an ever-increasing number of victims,” he stated. “Pakistan unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including right-wing extremism, Islamophobia, racially and ethnically motivated terrorism, and, above all, state-sponsored terrorism.” Ajmal stressed that the world must address the root causes of terrorism and the conditions conducive to its spread. He also emphasised the importance of distinguishing terrorism from legitimate struggles for self-determination. The counsellor highlighted the “need to address state-sponsored terrorism and underscored the necessity of reaching a consensual definition of terrorism that reflects emerging trends”. “He added that challenges arising from the use of new tools – such as social media and the dark web – to deepen divisions and incite violence must also be combated,” the press release read. He further called for efforts to counter disinformation campaigns designed to spread hate speech, xenophobia, and Islamophobia. Ajmal also highlighted that the international community owes a moral and legal obligation to victims of terrorism to take effective, impartial steps to suppress terrorism wherever it exists and in whatever form. “The more terrorism there is, the more victims there will be,” he noted.