US urges Pakistan, India to demonstrate restraint
Continued communication between Pakistan, India important to reduce tensions, Mark Toner said.
WASHINGTON (Web Desk) - Amid tense situation between Pakistan and India on the Line of Control (LoC), the United States has urged Pakistan and India to demonstrate calm and restraint.
Addressing the daily press briefing in Washington, US State Department’s Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said both militaries have been in communication and continued communication between them is important to reduce tensions.
“We understand that the Pakistani and Indian militaries have been in communication and we believe that continued communication between them is important to reduce tensions. I think we don’t – certainly don’t want to see any kind of escalation – and certainly any kind of break in that communication,” he said.
Toner remarked that US has high-level engagement with both governments and we do not want to see it escalate any further.
The spokesperson further said nuclear-capable states have a very clear responsibility to exercise restraint regarding nuclear weapons and missile capabilities.
Earlier on Friday, Pakistan urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to personally intervene to help defuse rising tensions with India over disputed Kashmir.
"This is a dangerous moment for the region," Pakistan’s Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi told AFP after meeting with Ban at UN headquarters in New York.
"The time has come for bold intervention by him if we are to avoid a crisis, because we can see a crisis building up."
Tensions between the two arch rivals have been boiling since the Indian government accused Pakistan-based militants of launching an assault on an army base in Kashmir earlier this month that killed 18 soldiers.
Lodhi accused India of creating "conditions that pose a threat to regional and international peace and security."
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric declined to specify what action Ban might take, but he said that the UN chief "would welcome all proposals" or initiatives aimed at de-escalation.
Ban is following the situation "with great concern," said Dujarric, citing the escalating rhetoric between the two countries and the increased tensions along the line of control separating Kashmir between Pakistani- and Indian-controlled areas.
A UN military observer mission (UNMOGIP) is looking into reports of ceasefire violations along the line of control and will report to Ban, he added.
"UNMOGIP has not directly observed any firing across the line of control related to the latest incident," he added.
The Pakistani ambassador said she had suggested to Ban that plans for a visit to India and Pakistan expected in November could be brought forward to avert a crisis.
Lodhi also met this week with the current Security Council president, New Zealand Ambassador Gerard van Bohemen, to ask that the top UN body keep a close eye on developments.
"This is a crisis between two nuclear neighbors. This is as dangerous as it gets," said Lodhi.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since they gained independence from Britain seven decades ago, two of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
-- with inputs from AFP
