U.S. calls on Pakistan to 'exercise restraint' regarding nuclear weapons

With Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton asserting that Islamabad is running at full speed to develop tactical nukes in their continuing hostility with India, the United States has called on Pakistan to exercise restraint regarding nuclear weapons and missile capabilities.

Addressing the media, State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said in a clear message to Pakistan that nuclear-capable states have a very clear responsibility to exercise restraint regarding nuclear weapons and missile capabilities.

Talking about the continued surge in tensions between India, Pakistan especially after the recent surgical strike by the Indian Army in Pakistan occupied Kashmir on terror launch pads, Toner stated that the U.S. is following the situation on the ground very closely and urges calm and restraint by both sides.

"We understand that the Pakistani and Indian militaries have been in communication and we believe that continued communication between them is important to reduce tensions. I think we certainly don't want to see any kind of escalation and certainly any kind of break in that communication," he said.

Re-iterating that the U.S. condemns the deadly Uri attack, he added that the Barack Obama-led government has repeatedly and consistently expressed its concerns regarding the danger that cross-border terrorism poses for the region.

"And we continue to urge actions to combat and de-escalate and delegitimize, rather, terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba, rather Haqqani Network, as well as Jaish-e-Mohammad," Toner said.

Asserting that U.S. does not want to see tensions between India and Pakistan escalate any further, the spokesperson stated that the Secretary of State John Kerry is engaged and talking to senior Indian leadership consistently regarding the matter.