UN Chief Antonio Guterres urges India, Pakistan to use 'maximum restraint' after IAF air strike on JeM terror camps in Balakot

Following the pre-dawn air strike by IAF on JeM terror training camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, a top UN official confirmed that UN chief Antonio Guterres is following the situation between India and Pakistan "very closely" and has appealed to the governments of both nations to exercise "maximum restraint" to ensure the situation does not deteriorate further.

India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders.  The strike was the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war.

"He is obviously following the situation very closely and reiterates his urgent appeal to both the governments of India and the government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate," UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters when asked about the Secretary General's remarks on the air strike.

READ: BIG: Indian Army Destroys Five Pakistan Army Posts, Gives Pak Befitting Response For LoC-wide Ceasefire Violation After IAF's Strike On Terror Camps

IAF air strike on Pakistan came 12 days after the Jaish-e-Mohammed carried out a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF soldiers were martyred. 

UN chief Antonio Guterres had also condemned the Pulwama terror attack saying that the perpetrators of terrorist acts should be brought swiftly to justice. 

READ: Perpetrators Of Terror Acts Must Be Brought Swiftly To Justice: UN Chief Antonio Guterres

The international community stood in solidarity with India in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, pressing Pakistan to stop providing safe haven to terror groups operating from its soil and bring the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice.

India had also asked Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from territories under its control.

Earlier, the India government also announced the withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation status for Pakistan and hiked the customs duty by 200 per cent on goods originating from Pakistan.

READ: 'Thought It Was An Earthquake': Residents In Pakistan's Balakot Thought Earthquake Jolted Them From Sleep Even As They Could Hear IAF Jets

(With agency inputs)