Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned the terror attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned the terror attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot and encouraged leaders of India and Pakistan to build on recent high-level exchanges between the two nations to address all outstanding issues through dialogue.
"... the Secretary-General condemns the terrorist attack at the Pathankot air base in India. He is aware that the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan had a phone conversation today to discuss this issue," Mr Ban's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in United Nations today.
He added that the UN chief "encourages both countries to build on recent high-level exchanges to address all outstanding issues through dialogue."
Mr Dujarric had not commented on the terror attack in Pathankot when asked on Monday, saying that the operation there was still ongoing.
On the attack on the Indian consulate in Afghanistan's Mazar-i-Sharif, Mr Dujarric had said that "obviously, it is an attack we condemn. Especially in light of what we've said, an attack on a diplomatic outpost - that needs to be protected."
In response to a question on the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, Mr Dujarric had told reporters that under the Vienna Convention, the responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and to protect diplomats lies with the countries where these diplomats work and where these missions work.
"We have seen in the past years, recently in various places, attacks on diplomatic missions, which the Secretary-General has spoken out against and which he did again this time. But it is clearly the responsibility of the host country to protect diplomatic premises and to protect the lives of diplomats," he had said.
The Pathankot terror attack began on Saturday last with six terrorists sneaking into the Air Base, leading to an encounter in which seven security-men, including a Lt Colonel, were killed. Six terrorists were eliminated during the encounter with the security forces. The terrorists were believed to owe allegiance to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).