Yvette Tanamal, Jakarta – Jakarta has urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint after fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbors on early Wednesday broke out in response to an attack by Islamist militants that killed dozens in Indian Kashmir last month.
In a statement posted on its official X handle on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said that Indonesia was closely monitoring the development of the situation between India and Pakistan.
"We urge both parties to exercise restraint and prioritize dialogue in resolving the crisis," the ministry said in the statement.
The ministry also advised Indonesian citizens residing in India and Pakistan to remain alert and avoid traveling to affected areas and possible targeted places.
In another statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, the ministry said the Indonesian embassies in New Delhi and Islamabad had communicated with Indonesian nationals living near the targeted areas. No Indonesian citizens were injured during the strikes.
There are 74 Indonesian citizens living in the Pakistani area affected by the strike, according to the embassy in Islamabad. Meanwhile, 11 Indonesians, including two children, live in Kashmir, according to the embassy in New Delhi. Most of them, who are married to local residents, reported that they were still feeling safe in their respective homes.
The Foreign Ministry also suggested that Indonesians planning to travel to the India-Pakistan border area postpone their trips.
According to data from the Foreign Ministry, at least 1,047 Indonesian nationals are living in India and some 1,200 in Pakistan. Meanwhile, more than 46,000 Indonesians visited India in 2018.
Reported casualties
In the worst fighting between New Delhi and Islamabad in two decades, India launched air strikes against Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir in what it claimed as a countermeasure against Islamist militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba that were deemed responsible for attacks against Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir in late April, Reuters reported.
The April terror attack, which claimed 26 civilians in the Indian-administered region, raised tensions between the two neighbors as New Delhi moved to ban all Pakistani nationals and imports from entering the country.
India has since also made allegations that the terror attack was launched with Islamabad's support, which was quickly rebutted by Pakistan.
Two Indian military spokespeople said during a briefing in New Delhi that Indian forces targeted "terrorist camps" that served as recruitment centers, launchpads and indoctrination centers and housed weapons and training facilities.
They added that Indian forces carefully chose warheads to avoid collateral damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure, but did not elaborate on the methods used in the strikes.
Islamabad said six Pakistani locations were targeted during the air strike, and that none of them were militant camps. At least 26 civilians were killed and 46 wounded, a Pakistan military spokesperson said as quoted by Reuters.
A statement from the Pakistan prime minister's office said five Indian aircraft and drones had been shot down, a statement not confirmed by India.
Local government sources in Indian Kashmir told Reuters that three fighter jets had crashed in separate areas of the Himalayan region during the night. All three pilots had been hospitalized, the sources added.
More calls for restraint
Aside from the air strikes, the two countries also exchanged intense shelling and heavy gunfire across much of their de facto border in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, police and witnesses told Reuters.
The shelling killed 10 civilians and wounded 48 in the Indian part of the region, police there said. At least six people were killed on the Pakistani side, officials there said.
Several Asian airlines said on Wednesday that they were rerouting or canceling flights to and from Europe and about a dozen Indian airports were shut after the fighting erupted.
Tensions between India and Pakistan date back to 1947, when the two countries were carved out of the subcontinent at the end of British colonial rule.
Several countries and international parties have also raised calls for restraint in responding to the latest escalation, expressing concerns that the crisis could further escalate and destabilize the South Asian region.
A spokesperson for United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres called for "maximum military restraint".
"The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan," he said, as quoted by AFP.
The foreign ministry of China, sharing borders with India and Pakistan, said on Wednesday that both countries should "remain calm and restrained" and avoid taking actions that further complicate the situation.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on his official X account that Washington was "monitoring the situation", conveying wishes for the conflict to "end quickly".
Source: https://asianews.network/indonesia-calls-on-india-pakistan-to-show-restraint-amid-escalated-conflict