NEW YORK - The United Nations Monday withheld comments on a letter written to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon underscoring the urgency for easing the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of last week's terrorist strikes in Mumbai. "I'm not aware of the receipt of the letter from the Pakistani ambassador," the secretary-general's spokesperson, Marie Okabe, said when asked for the UN chief's reaction. She said that the secretary-general was on his way to New York from Doha where he attended a U.N. conference on financing and development. The letter was also sent to the President of the General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann and all the 192 members of the United Nations. Although Ambassaador Haroon's letter calls on the international community to play its role in averting a conflict in South Asia, it did not specifically ask the U.N. to play any role. However, he proposed that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice be sent to the region to "bring about rapprochement and rapport between the aggrieved countries to avoid conflagration." Questioned whether the UN chief would take steps to defuse the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the spokesperson only reiterated his strong condemnation of those attacks in which nearly 200 people were killed and many more wounded. "He (the secretary-general) also joins in the call by Indian authorities for full cooperation by all concerned, both inside and outside the country, with their investigation," she said. "The Secretary-General was among the first to express his strong condemnation of these attacks as well as his sympathy and solidarity with the government and people of India. That solidarity extends to other nations who lost citizens in these heinous attacks," the spokesperson added. Referring to the tensions on the subcontinent, Ambassador Haroon said, "India should not widen the area of conflict." "Pakistan and India have to help each other to contain the elements of anarchy and to stop them in their track", Ambassador Haroon said in the letter released on Sunday, in which he said the Mumbai attacks were aimed at accomplaishing al-Qaeda's objectives. "Due to the urgency of the situation the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should rush immediately to South Asia to bring about rapprochement and rapport between the aggrieved countries to avoid conflagration, Ambassador Haroon added. He reiterated Pakistan's condemnation of the terrorist attacks and said his government was ready to cooperate in the investigating the crime. "We mourn the death of 200 people in India and we ask them to mourn with us as we lose more than that number every week and in the shared grief, let us work together". Following is the text of the letter: Excellency, In my very first meeting with the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, he had broached the subject of peace in South Asia and the need for developing talks between Pakistan-India and Pakistan-Afghanistan. The visit of President Zardari to New York twice, vindicated and brought to the attention of the international community President Zardari's strong belief that this is exactly what he intended to accomplish. The past two months have heralded the strong new beginning between all countries of South Asia, specifically the relationship building up between Pakistan and India democracies. The horrific events that unfolded in Mumbai have caused anguish and severe pain to the vast majority of Pakistanis and have been reflected in the strong condemnatory statements of President Zardari, Prime Minister Gillani and Foreign Minister Qureshi. There should be no doubt that Pakistan has suffered and shared the grief with our brothers in India over the unnecessary and wilful killing of innocent people. The Government of Pakistan in its new democratic outlook had initiated strong steps and CBMs to normalize Pakistan-India relations; the first and most important being the Composite Dialogue followed by the instrument called the Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism which manifested closer intelligence cooperation. The first meetings of these important areas of discussion and dialogue already have been initiated. These talks also reflected the growing relationship and understanding between the President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of India at a personal level. It is indeed regrettable that an attempt is being made internationally to involve Pakistan through its government and people to bear the brunt of the outrage against the Mumbai incident. This is the response rooted in the history of old antagonism and is not befitting the spirit of cordiality that the new democratic leadership of Pakistan has established with India . To build up circumstantial evidence has resulted in some of the costliest mistakes made by mankind and the latest example has been that of the American intervention in Iraq . The international community is, indeed, better served by the reality of peace. It is not the first time that rogue elements that reside in every country of the world have intervened to divert the progress of mankind and peace by provocative acts of public vandalism that result in regrettable outrage and take the world closer towards conflict. It is imperative and the need of the hour to avoid the "blame game". In my various discourses at the United Nations I have tried to explain that in history whenever the Khyber is breached, India becomes vulnerable and the flash point is always within Indian boundaries typically at Panipat. For a long time we have tried to tell the world that the front line has shifted from Afghanistan into Pakistan and the consequences for India , Middle East and China are obvious. It is the intent of the anti-peace and nihilistic people who wish to create a Trotsky-like formula with the eventual goal of acquiring a stronghold in Pakistan The world prefers to perceive this as an insurgency and does not recognize the potential of this movement in Afghanistan and Pakistan's North West Frontier Province to spill over into adjoining countries, thereby widening the conflict. The world must now recognize that the best method and way of countering this worldwide threat should be by helping the Government of Pakistan not only to defend itself, which it is doing to the best of its ability but to stamp out the threat to Pakistan and to the entire world once and for all. This requires financial aid, political understanding and unstinting military support. Whosoever have planned the Mumbai episode are part of a deliberate international move emanating out of Al-Qaeda to achieve their following objectives: i) To ratchet up tension, extend the field of conflict and to undermine normalization between Pakistan and India . ii) To force this as an issue in an election year in India , which while confusing Muslims who are 15 % of the electorate, may result in an angry Hindu victory and a possible defeat of liberal and secular forces of India . This will further increase tension in South Asia . iii) To divert Pakistan 's soldiers and forces out of the North West Frontier Province to the eastern front to counter any threat by India thereby releasing the immense pressure of military operations of the Pakistanis that have confounded the forces of terrorism. iv) To impel the collapse of nascent democracy and undermine the delicate relationship between the military and the current democratic dispensation in Pakistan . v) To cause Hindu-Muslim bloodshed in India thereby creating greater aggravation within the Muslim population resulting in an increase in Al-Qaeda and other similar enrolment in India . vi) An important aspect of this would be that the American Government which has been the arbiter between Pakistan and India would be in its transition stage and would not be able to intervene during these crucial moments to let sanity prevail. It is, therefore, imperative for the international community especially the Friends of Pakistan to play its role. Due to the urgency of the situation the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should rush immediately to South Asia to bring about rapprochement and rapport between the aggrieved countries to avoid conflagration. Pakistan is prepared to engage and extend cooperation in all aspects of the investigation. We mourn the death of 200 people in India and we ask them to mourn with us as we lose more than that number every week and in the shared grief, let us work together. India should not widen the area of conflict. Pakistan and India have to help each other to contain the elements of anarchy and to stop them in their tracks. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. ( Abdullah Hussain Haroon )