The UN has urged India and Pakistan to exercise "maximum restraint" following a deadly attack in India-administrated Kashmir that killed 26 people.
Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday, that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "has not had any direct contact" with those governments in the past 24 hours, but is "following the situation very closely and with very great concern."
"We were very clear in our condemnation of the terror attack that occurred in Jammu and Kashmir on the 22nd, which killed a large number of civilians," Dujarric said at a news conference, as he encouraged both governments to "exercise maximum restraint and to ensure that the situation and the developments we've seen do not deteriorate any further."
"Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe, can be and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement," he added.
The incident shocked and outraged Indians, prompting calls for action against their country's archenemy, Pakistan. India, which has deployed more than 500,000 troops in the region, said the attack had "cross-border" links to Pakistan, without publicly producing any evidence to support that claim.
Pakistan has denied any connection to the attack. A shadowy group called The Resistance Front has purportedly claimed responsibility, according to an unverified claim quoted by some Indian media outlets close to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Pakistan's government hit back with a string of measures against India, which accused Islamabad of supporting "cross-border terrorism" following a brutal attack on Indian tourists.
US 'closely monitoring'
The US State Department's spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, reiterated that President Donald Trump stands with India and condemns all acts of terrorism.
"President Trump and Secretary Rubio have made clear. The US stands with India and strongly condemns all acts of terrorism. We pray for the lives of those lost and for the recovery of the injured and call for the perpetrators of this heinous Act to be brought to justice," Bruce said.
Asked if the US is using diplomacy to cool down tensions between Pakistan and India, Bruce said: "It is a rapidly changing situation, and we are monitoring it closely, as you might imagine. And we, of course, are not now taking a position on the status of Kashmir or of Jammu either. So that's really going to be the extent of what I can say today"
Modi promises to pursue the perpetrators responsible for the attack “to the ends of the Earth”.
Protests in Pakistan
Meanwhile, hundreds of Pakistanis joined protests across the country on Thursday, including in Pakistan-administrated Kashmir, to rage against Indian threats.
"If India wants to go to war, then come forward openly," businessman Ajmal Baloch told AFP news agency at a protest called by a religious party and attended by around 700 people in Lahore, where the main border crossing with India is located.
India has said it will suspend the Indus Water Treaty, which shares critical water between the two neighbours, although it has no major means of restricting the river's flow downstream to Pakistan.
"Water is our right and, God willing, we will reclaim it, even if that means through war.
We will not back down," 25-year-old Muhammad Owais said.
