The US has asked Pakistan to abide by its UNSC commitments to deny terrorists safe haven.
Highlights
- India and Pak should take immediate steps to deescalate the situation: US
- US also said Pak must deny terrorists a safe haven and block their funds
- India had been on high alert amid warnings of retaliation by Islamabad
The US today called on India and Pakistan to "cease all cross-border military activity" and "take immediate steps to deescalate the situation, including through direct communication", a day after the first air combat between the countries in decades and the capture of an Indian pilot by Pakistan.
Urging the neighbours to make efforts for a "return to stability", the US also said Pakistan must abide by its UN Security Council commitments to deny terrorists a safe haven and block their access to funds. The statement referred to the killing of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed and said "cross-border terrorism poses a grave threat to the security of the region".
On Wednesday, the government put out a strong statement and handed a demarche to Pakistan after Islamabad said it had shot down two Indian aircraft and taken a pilot captive. India also said it had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet in aerial combat.
The first air encounter between the two countries since 1971 marked rapid escalation of tension a day after India sent its fighter jets into Pakistan for the first time in decades and carried out a strike at a major terror camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which had killed over 40 soldiers in a suicide bombing in Kashmir's Pulwama on February 14.
The government said it expects the "immediate and safe return" of the pilot and lodged a strong protest over the "unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan", saying its jets had targeted military installations in India.
Videos from Pakistan showed the pilot blindfolded and wounded, his arms tied behind his back, being interrogated. The videos were taken off official and news accounts as Pakistan faced allegations of violating the Geneva Convention. Later, a video showed the pilot sipping tea, saying that "officers of the Pakistani army have looked after me well".
Pakistan, which had initially claimed it had captured two pilots, claimed he was being treated "as per norms of military ethics".
India said it "strongly objects to Pakistan's vulgar display" of the pilot and said Pakistan "would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody."
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a televised address, called for dialogue and said: "It was our plan to not cause any collateral damage, and not to cause any casualties. We simply wanted to show capability. Two Indian MiGs crossed Pakistan's Borders, and we shot them down. I want to now address India and say let sanity prevail."
Amid rising tension, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the military chiefs, the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the Defence and Foreign Secretaries and intelligence officials. He had another long meeting with the service chiefs at his home later in the evening.
India had been on high alert amid warnings of retaliation by Islamabad after the IAF fighter jets destroyed the Jaish terror camp in Balakot, around 80 km from the Line of Control, in a pre-dawn strike on Tuesday. New Delhi said it was a "non-military and pre-emptive" strike based on credible inputs that Jaish was training suicide bombers for more attacks like Pulwama.
Hours after the government confirmed the strike, there was heightened firing and shelling by Pakistani forces along the Line of Control.
The US, Britain and France have moved a fresh proposal at the UN Security Council or UNSC to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist. The proposal is likely to tighten pressure on China, which has repeatedly blocked such moves in the past.