The Norwegian government was appealing on Wednesday to both Pakistan and India to “tone down” tensions that have led to attacks on one another in recent weeks. There are large immigrant communities from both countries in Norway.
“This is exactly the type of escalation we hoped to avoid,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said on Wednesday, after India responded to a recent attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir by bombing Pakistan during the night. “Therefore we’re urging both parties, India and Pakistan, to show restraint,” Eide told reporters in Oslo. He described the situation as the most serious between the two countries in several decades and said “it worries me deeply,” not least since both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons.
Eide’s boss, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, said he understood that “this is an especially difficult and demanding time” for all Pakistani and Indian immigrants in Norway and called on them to “take care of one another.” He repeated what his government has also told leaders in India and Pakistan: “Everyone who can contribute to toning things down must do so. And Norway will make its contribution, too.” Around 400 Norwegian citizens are currently registered as visitors in India and Pakistan. India’s leader Narendra Modi was planning to visit Norway soon, but Støre’s office confirmed Wednesday that it has been postponed indefinitely.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
