India wants to avoid any "further escalation of the situation" after conducting "pre-emptive" air strikes against militant camps in Pakistani territory, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday.

The incursion across the ceasefire line that divides Kashmir came after New Delhi threatened retaliation over the February 14 suicide bombing that killed 40 Indian troops, and was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group.

Swaraj stressed during talks in China with her counterparts from Beijing and Moscow that "no military installations were targeted" in the air raid, and the target was selected to avoid civilian casualties.

She said the decision was taken "in the light of the continuing refusal of Pakistan to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory, and based on credible information that Jaish-e-Mohammed was planning other attacks in... (India)".

"The limited objective of that pre-emptive strike was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of Jaish-e-Mohammed in order to pre-empt another terror attack in India," Swaraj added.

"India does not wish to see further escalation of this situation. India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint."

Pakistan denied India's claim that the attack had inflicted major damage and casualties on militants, calling it "reckless and fictitious" and vowing a response in due course.

The operation is India's first use of air power on Pakistani soil since the two went to war in 1971.

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Pakistan accuses India of launching strike across Kashmir border
Islamabad (AFP) Feb 26, 2019
Pakistan said Tuesday that Indian warplanes crossed into its airspace over the ceasefire line in Kashmir and dropped payloads, after tensions spiked between the nuclear-armed neighbours over the disputed region. "Indian Air Force violated Line of Control," Pakistan military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted, referring to the de facto border between Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Pakistan Air Force jets were scrambled in response to the incursion, Ghafoor said. "Facing ... read more