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Updated: Feb 19, 2019 23:08 IST

Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has called on the United Nations to step in to defuse tensions with India in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, saying there should be a “credible investigation” into the incident.

In a letter addressed to the UN secretary general on Monday, Qureshi wrote, “It is imperative to take steps for de-escalation. The United Nations must step in to defuse tensions.

“India must be asked to conduct an open and credible investigation on Pulwama incident,” he added.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have increased since the February 14 suicide bomb attack at Pulwama in Kashmir that killed 40 troops. The bombing was claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Qureshi wrote in the letter, “It is with a sense of urgency that I draw your attention to the deteriorating security situation in our region resulting from the threat of use of force against Pakistan by India.” The UN secretary general, he added, should ask “India to refrain from further escalating the situation and enter into dialogue with Pakistan and the Kashmiris to calm the situation down”.

Qureshi contended that the attack was carried out by a Kashmiri resident and attributing it “to Pakistan even before investigations is absurd”. He said India had “ratcheted up its hostile rhetoric” for “domestic political reasons”.

During a meeting with Pakistan’s envoy to India, Sohail Mahmood, who was called back to Islamabad for consultations, Qureshi said Pakistan wants peace in the region as unrest is not in anyone’s interest. Qureshi and the envoy exchanged views on the security situation in the region after the Pulwama attack.

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office summoned acting Indian high commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia to lodge a protest regarding the safety and security of its mission and officials in New Delhi.