UK engaged in round-the-clock diplomacy to calm situation in Kashmir: Hunt

Round-the-clock diplomatic efforts are under way in a bid to defuse the "very volatile" crisis over Kashmir, Jeremy Hunt has said.

The Foreign Secretary said clashes between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan over the disputed territory are "extremely dangerous".

His comments came after Prime Minister Theresa May urged both sides to show restraint and work to find a peaceful outcome.

In the latest exchanges in the brewing conflict, Pakistan's air force said it shot down two Indian warplanes after they crossed the frontier between the two nations.

The escalation came hours after Pakistan said Indian mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir killed six civilians and wounded several others.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for talks with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to address the situation.

Mr Hunt said he had spoken to his counterparts in India and Pakistan in recent days and urged both sides to "de-escalate and reduce tensions".

Speaking in his Commons office, Mr Hunt said: "You have two nuclear powers who have a long history of tension squaring up against each other and now the start of some kind of military conflict. It's an extremely dangerous situation."

Mr Hunt said there wi no desire from either side to escalate the conflict, but the situation is "very volatile", adding: "You don't just have the governments but you have public opinion in both countries that is very inflamed."

The minister said the UK is working with allies and other members of the UN Security Council to find a way to calm the situation, with contacts "at all levels of government".

He said: "It's a full, round-the-clock, diplomatic effort to try and make sure we can avert the worst and end up with a peaceful resolution which we know both countries want."

At Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, Mrs May said she is "deeply concerned" about the situation and the UK "urgently calls for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "We strongly support rapid dialogue between India and Pakistan in order to reduce the conflict, reduce the tensions and deal with the root causes of it before more lives are lost."

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain and partition in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

Low-level skirmishes are not unusual over the frontier, but the dramatic rise in tensions comes after Indian jets targeted what New Delhi claimed was a terrorist training camp in Pakistani territory.

The military response came after a February 14 car bomb attack on a convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed 40 paramilitary troops.

The militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, which was carried out by a suicide bomber from Indian Kashmir.