Pakistani Envoy to Return to India as Tensions De-escalate - Foreign Minister

Earlier, Indian air forces struck targets inside Pakistan, while Pakistan reports that it shot down two Indian planes and captured an Indian pilot before releasing him.

Tensions between India and Pakistan are declining, the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.

He added that Pakistan had decided to send its high commissioner back to the Indian capital New Delhi.

READ MORE: Indian Defence Ministry Accuses Pakistan of Fresh Ceasefire Violation in Kashmir

"Tensions between India and Pakistan appear to be de-escalating, and this is a positive development," Qureshi told reporters, as quoted by the broadcaster Geo TV.

Qureshi announced that a Pakistani delegation would visit New Delhi to discuss the proposed Kartarpur Corridor with Indian officials, via which Indian religious devotees could travel to a place of worship located near the border without a visa.

Qureshi also thanked the foreign ministers of China, Turkey, Russia, the UAE and Jordan for assisting in reducing tensions in the region.

On 26 February, Indian aircraft carried out airstrikes on what it said was a militant camp in Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly attack that claimed the lives of at least 40 Indian troops in Indian-administered Kashmir on 14 February.

Pakistan, which denied any involvement in the 14 February attack, retaliated with airstrikes that led to an Indian fighter jet being shot down in Pakistan-administered Kashmir region. The pilot, who was captured by Pakistan, was released on 1 March.