Pompeo urges India, Pakistan 'to exercise restraint'

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint after Indian jets launched attacks inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

In a statement Tuesday, the State Department said Pompeo spoke separately with India's Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

"I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said. "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity."

Indian jets intruded into Pakistan’s airspace early Tuesday amid mounting tensions but “escaped” without causing any casualties, according to Pakistani army spokesman Asif Ghafoor.

However, India claimed that its air force struck the “biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed” in Balakot, Pakistan and killed “several terrorists”.

Tensions between the two countries have mounted since Feb. 14, when a suicide bombing claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed on an army convoy killed at least 44 Indian paramilitary troops in the single deadliest assault on India’s forces in Jammu and Kashmir in three decades.

New Delhi blames Pakistan for the attack, a charge which Islamabad denies.