Quad calls for punishing perpetrators of Pahalgam attack, urges global cooperation

The Quad grouping has called for bringing the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of the Pahalgam terror attack to justice without any delay and urged UN member nations to extend cooperation for it.

- MPOST BUREAU

The foreign ministers of the four-nation grouping met here on Tuesday to firm up a broad agenda for the bloc's annual summit in India later this year.

The Quad condemned the April 22 attack in South Kashmir in the strongest terms and strongly pitched for action against cross-border terrorism.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers, however, did not mention Pakistan or the four-day military conflict between the Indian and Pakistani militaries in May.

The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya.

"We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and extend our heartfelt wishes for a swift and full recovery to all those injured," they said.

"We call for the perpetrators, organisers, and financiers of this reprehensible act to be brought to justice without any delay and urge all UN Member States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard," they added.

The Quad foreign ministers also expressed serious concern over Beijing's military muscle-flexing in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

"We reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion," they said without directly mentioning China.