Pompeo urges restraint in India, Pakistan

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is encouraging India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid escalation after an Indian airstrike in Pakistani territory.

The statement from his spokesperson's office said Pompeo spoke to government ministers of both countries by phone to emphasize the shared goal of peace and security in the region. Pompeo said he underscored to Pakistan the urgency of taking meaningful action against terrorist groups on its soil.

Pakistan said the Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the town of Balakot but there were no casualties. India said the airstrike early Tuesday hit a terrorist training camp and killed a large number of militants.

Pakistan's foreign ministry has summoned India's top diplomat in Islamabad to protest the airstrike and said the "Indian aggression" would get a "befitting response."

The ministry says the "Indian aggression was a threat to regional peace and stability and would get a befitting response by Pakistan at a time and place of its choosing."

Pakistan has warned India after it carried out pre-dawn airstrikes on Pakistani territory, saying that it's now Islamabad's turn to "surprise" its rival.

China, a close Pakistani ally, is calling for restraint from both Islamabad and New Delhi to prevent a larger crisis.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi says his country is in "safe hands," hours after India carried out an airstrike inside Pakistani-controlled territory.

The crackdown has mainly targeted Jama'at-e-Islami, Kashmir's largest religious-political group that also espouses the right to self-determination for the Himalayan region.

Jaish-e-Mohammad, a militant group based in Pakistan, claimed the Feb, 14 attack. But Pakistan has denied any involvement in the bombing, which it says was planned and executed "indigenously."

Source: AP