Nepal asks India, Pak not to engage in actions that would threaten regional security

Expressing concern over the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, Nepal on Wednesday said that as the current Chair of SAARC it underlines the importance of peace and stability in South Asia and calls on both sides not to engage in actions that would threaten security in the region.

The Foreign Ministry in a statement said the Nepal government is concerned about the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack on February on February 14.

It may be recalled that Nepal immediately condemned the heinous terrorist act, noted the Foreign Ministry.

As the current Chair of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), Nepal, while underlining the importance of peace and stability in South Asia, calls on both sides to exercise utmost restraint and not engage in actions that would threaten peace and security in the region," it said.

Nepal government has also called both the countries to seek solution through dialogue and peaceful means in order to ease tension and normalise the situation.

Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in India.

Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders.