Pakistan's ambassador to Washington voiced regret Wednesday that the United States has not condemned India's air incursion, saying the stance "emboldened" New Delhi.

With the nuclear-armed rivals shooting down each other's warplanes in their worst crisis in years, Pakistani Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan said the United States should have pinned blame on India.

"It is construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position and that is what emboldened them even more," Khan told reporters when asked about the US statement.

But Khan said that Pakistan — which has an increasingly close relationship with China and rising friction with Washington — was eager for greater US diplomacy between Islamabad and New Delhi.

"There is perhaps no other country better placed than the United States to be able to play some role," he said, pointing to the US relationship with both countries.

India said on Tuesday its air force conducted strikes on a militant camp inside Pakistan — the first time since 1971 it hit territory beyond divided Kashmir — after a Pakistan-based Islamist extremist group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on the Indian side of Kashmir that killed 40 troops.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a statement after talking to his counterparts in both countries, described the Indian strikes as "counter-terrorism actions."

While urging both sides to avoid escalation, he urged Pakistan to take "meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil."

President Donald Trump's administration last year cut off $300 million in military aid to Pakistan, saying Islamabad had not done enough to fight extremists at home or close safe havens for militants in neighboring Afghanistan.

EU's Mogherini urges 'utmost restraint' in India-Pakistan crisis
Brussels (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 –

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Wednesday called on India and Pakistan to show the "utmost restraint" in their worsening confrontation as fears grow of all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals.

After New Delhi and Islamabad said they had shot down each other's warplanes in a dramatic intensification of a standoff triggered by a suicide attack on the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir earlier this month, Mogherini warned of the dangers of further escalation.

"This has the potential to lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the two countries and the wider region," she said in a statement.

"We expect both countries to now exercise utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation of the situation," she added, urging the two sides to resume diplomatic contacts to defuse the crisis.

Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called for talks, warning of potentially catastrophic consequences should "better sense" not prevail.

While both sides have sought to play down the threat of war, the rare aerial engagement over the divided and disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir significantly raises the stakes between arch-rivals who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.

Pakistan says it has downed two Indian jets and taken one pilot into custody, while New Delhi confirmed the loss of one of its planes and said it had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet.

China urges India, Pakistan against 'expansion' of tensions
Beijing (AFP) Feb 28, 2019 –

China's foreign minister has called on Pakistan and India to avoid escalating tensions, expressing to his Pakistani counterpart "deep concern" over the Kashmir crisis amid fears aerial battles could snowball into an all-out conflict.

Wang Yi's comments came as Shah Mehmood Qureshi called him on Wednesday to provide an update on the latest developments in the standoff, the Chinese foreign ministry said Thursday.

Wang told Qureshi he hoped the nuclear-armed neighbours would "exercise restraint and earnestly fulfil their commitment to preventing the expansion of the situation", a ministry statement said.

Tensions between the historic rivals have dramatically escalated since announcing they had shot each other's fighter jets down Wednesday.

While both sides have sought to play down the threat of war, the rare aerial engagement over the divided and disputed territory of Kashmir significantly raises the stakes in a standoff sparked by a suicide attack on the Indian-controlled side earlier this month.

New Delhi had vowed retaliation after a Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed the attack, which killed dozens of troops in Indian Kashmir.

On Tuesday, India said its air force conducted strikes on a JeM militant camp inside Pakistan — the first time since 1971 it hit territory in divided Kashmir.

Beijing, one of Pakistan's closest allies, has poured billions of dollars into the country as part of a massive infrastructure project that seeks to connect China's western province of Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar in Balochistan.

On Wednesday, Britain, France, and the United States asked the UN Security Council to place JeM leader Masood Azhar on the UN terror blacklist, which would subject him to a global travel ban and assets freeze — a motion China is expected to object to.

China blocked attempts to impose sanctions on the JeM leader in 2016 and 2017. The group itself was added to the terror list in 2001.