TEHRAN – The Iranian Foreign Ministry called on India and Pakistan on Friday to practice more self-restraint as tensions continue to rise between the two neighbors.

“Continuation of the crisis between the two countries will undermine security in the region,” ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said in a statement.

He urged India and Pakistan to adopt peaceful ways and resolve the problems through dialogue. 

“Intensification and continuation of the crisis between the two countries will lay the grounds for the extremist and terrorist groups and their supporters to spread insecurity and instability in the region,” Qassemi noted.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry hopes India and Pakistan find “peaceful solutions” and “logical strategies” to the problems.Expressing hope that the two countries would find “peaceful solutions” and “logical strategies”, the Foreign Ministry official added
countries like India and Pakistan can bridge differences through diplomacy and negotiation.

According to CNN, Pakistan’s military said on Thursday that two Pakistani soldiers were killed after clashes with Indian troops on the de-facto border between the two countries.

The Indian army said it had conducted “surgical attacks” in the disputed region to foil a “terrorist attack,” CNN quoted India’s Director General of Military Operations.

But Pakistan insisted that no incursion had taken place into the territory it controls, saying there had only been an exchange of fire. It promised a “forceful response” if there was a repeat of the operation.

“The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists' bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India to create false effects," the Pakistani military said in a statement.

Pakistan said its soldiers died in “unprovoked” firing along the Line of Control(LoC) dividing the Kashmir region.

NA/PA