India Not Planning New Airstrikes near Border with Pakistan: Envoy to Moscow
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - India does not plan to conduct new air strikes on the border with Pakistan, the extremely tense situation in the disputed region of Kashmir is gradually stabilizing, Indian Ambassador to Russia Shri D. Bala Venkatesh Varma told Sputnik.
"No, we have no [such] plans at the present moment," the ambassador said, answering the relevant question.
The tense situation between neighboring India and Pakistan escalated after a Pakistan-based terrorist organization claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed over 40 Indian soldiers on 14 February.
According to the envoy, India has clearly stated that it is not interested in an escalation of the situation. And the best way to achieve a normal state of affairs in the region, Shri D. Bala Venkatesh Varma stated, is in Pakistani actions in the fight against terrorist groups.
"This is not a struggle between India and Pakistan. It is a question of India's protection of its interests in the face of the threat from terrorist groups. India is not the only country in the region that suffers from their actions," he said.
The statement comes after India's Air Force carried out an assault on an alleged terrorist base in Pakistan-administered-Kashmir, destroying several facilities on 26 February. New Delhi's air raid was conducted in response to a suicide attack claimed by the Pakistan-based terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad on 14 February.
After the attack, India accused Pakistan of supporting terrorist groups, Islamabad in turn, dismissed the allegations as "unsubstantiated", suggesting to conduct a joint investigation with New Delhi into the incident. The incident complicated the already tense relations between New Delhi and Islamabad, once again putting the region on the brink of a military conflict.