World Leaders Appeal for Calm, Restraint

World leaders have appealed for calm after India launched a series of missile strikes early Wednesday targeting nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including areas reportedly linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group, in response to the recent terror attack in Pahalgam.

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NEW DELHI: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged both India and Pakistan to avoid any further escalation. "The Secretary-General is very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and the international border. He calls for maximum military restraint from both countries. The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan," his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in New York. US President Donald Trump, speaking shortly after the news broke, expressed hope for a rapid de-escalation. "It's a shame," he told reporters at the White House. "We heard about it just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval Office. I guess people knew something was going to happen."

When asked if he had a message for India and Pakistan, Trump responded, "No, I just hope it ends very quickly." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Washington is closely observing developments in the region. The Russian Foreign Ministry voiced alarm over rising military tensions between the two South Asian neighbours. "We are deeply concerned about the intensifying military confrontation between India and Pakistan after the terrorist attack near the city of Pahalgam," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, as quoted by state news agency TASS. She added that Russia encourages both nations to address their differences through bilateral dialogue based on the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration.