Amid growing tension between India and Pakistan, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday voiced hoped that saner counsels shall prevail between the leadership of the two countries and they will get back to the task of economic development.
  He said this at a function at Teen Murti Bhavan where he was presented with the first 'P V Narasimha Rao National leadership and lifetime achievement award' by former president Pranab Mukherjee.
"I do hope that saner counsels will prevail between leadership of the two countries and we will get back to the economic development, which is the basic requirement of India and Pakistan," Singh said in his address.
Thanking the organisers - an NGO 'India Next' that instituted the award in memory of former prime minister Narasimha Rao, Singh said he will cherish the award and it will continue to inspire him for years.
"I thank you for this honour. It is a great day for me, on a day when our country is grappling with another crisis of the mad rush of mutual self destruction that plagues the the two countries of India and Pakistan.
"Our basic problem is to get rid of growing poverty, immunisation and disease, which still afflicts millions and millions of citizens of the two countries," he said, and hoped that the events and the narrative will change soon.
Mukherjee lauded Singh's role as finance minister under Rao and said both Rao and Singh will be remembered for the liberalisation of the Indian economy during the early 1990s.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said, “A statement was released by the opposition parties. The statement said that BJP is politicising the martyrdom of soldiers. We condemn this statement. The impact of that statement is seen on Pakistan television. Has Opposition thought of what will happen after such statements? This shows the country is divided and Pakistan is happy about it.”

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar will address a press conference at the  BJP Headquarters shortly. 

The US, the UK, China, Russia and the European Union on Wednesday urged both India and Pakistan to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further military activity by the nuclear-armed neighbours.
   Tensions between India and Pakistan rose Wednesday after Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot.
 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to defuse the tension by saying war is futile and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess.
Worried over escalating tensions, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with foreign ministers of India and Pakistan, urging them to avoid "further military activity".
"I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo, who is accompanying President Donald Trump at the second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said in Vietnam. 
In London, Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain is deeply concerned over rising tensions between India and Pakistan, urging both the nuclear-armed nations to exercise restraint to avoid further escalation.
"The UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and urgently calls for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation. We are in regular contact with both countries, urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability," she said.

The European Union (EU) Wednesday said that rising tension between India and Pakistan has the potential to lead to "dangerous consequences" for the two countries and the wider region and called for utmost restraint.
  European Union Commission Vice President Federica Mogherini said in a statement, "Following the recent terrorist attack in Pulwama, tensions along the 'Line of Control' between India and Pakistan have escalated militarily during the last days. This has the potential to lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the two countries and the wider region."
On Wednesday, an IAF pilot was in Pakistani custody and a Pakistani fighter jet was shot down as fears of war darkened India-Pakistan relations with the Air Force repulsing retaliatory attacks from the western neighbour. 
Mogherini, who is also the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the EU expects both countries to "now exercise utmost restraint" and avoid any further escalation. 
"To this end, the resumption of diplomatic contacts at political level and implementation of urgent measures by both sides is vital," she said.

 The Railways on Wednesday said the Samjhauta Express will continue to run as per schedule from Delhi to Attari in India, amidst reports that Pakistan has suspended its operations between Wagah to Lahore on its side. 
  "The train will run as per schedule as of now," Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar told PTI about its operation on the Indian side.
The biweekly train, which runs on Wednesdays and Sundays, will leave at 11:10 o'clock tonight as per schedule from the Old Delhi Railway station with 26 passengers aboard - four in AC coach, 22 in non-AC coaches -- sources said.
The train does not have any commercial stops between Delhi and Attari.
Originally, the train offered a through service with one rake going all the way between the terminals - Delhi in India to Lahore in Pakistan. However, now a Pakistani rake stops at Attari at which point passengers have to change trains and board an Indian rake.

Amid escalating Indo-Pak tensions, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh Wednesday said the situation in the state was "under control" and the hospitals were prepared for any eventuality.
  Singh chaired a review meeting of the border areas in Jalandhar along with top officials of the Army, the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Punjab Police, an official spokesperson said.
He extended all possible help to the Army to ensure that the border areas of the state remain stable and secure and appealed to the locals to be wary of rumour mongering.
"The situation is under control and the armed and paramilitary forces, along with the police and district administrations, are aggressively countering all rumours," he said.
The CM said he would visit the border areas in the districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Pathankot, Faridkot and Ferozepur over the next two days to instill confidence among the people.
He asked the police and the security forces to sensitise the people about the situation, in wake of the Indian Air Force (IAF) air strikes on militant hideouts across the Line of Control (LoC) following the Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir.

 Pakistan Army on Wednesday said it has arrested "only one" Indian pilot, retracting from its earlier statement that two IAF pilots were under its custody.
"There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics," Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said.
Earlier, Ghafoor claimed that two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots were arrested. One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, the spokesman had said.
In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action".
The MEA said that according to Pakistan the missing IAF pilot was in their custody. "We are ascertaining that," the MEA spokesman said

Paksitan military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor has now said that they only have one IAF pilot in their custody. “Wing Commander Abhinandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics”, he tweeted.

The BSF has issued an alert and has taken all preventive measures at the India-Bangladesh border in the eastern part of the country to ensure "miscreants or terror elements" don't cross over taking advantage of the tension at the Indo-Pakistan border, an official of the force said Wednesday.
  Bangladesh and West Bengal share about 2,216.7 km border, of which a large portion is unfenced.
Patrolling in the riverine border areas of Sunderbans has also been increased, the BSF official said.
"We have issued an alert in the Indo-Bangla border and have taken all preventive measures to ensure that miscreants or terror elements don't cross over to this side of the border by taking advantage of the volatile situation in the western front," a senior BSF official told.

Pakistan confirms that only one Indian pilot is under custody.

The 21 parties issued joint a statement saying, "Leaders condemned Pakistani misadventure and expressed deep concern for safety of our missing pilot. Leaders urged government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity."

According to the Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, Moscow is following the development of events. Russia is concerned about the aggravation of relations between India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to show restraint. This was stated to journalists by the press secretary of Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the military incident in this region. "We are extremely concerned about the news coming in, we are very closely monitoring the situation and, of course, we urge all parties to show restraint," said a Kremlin spokesman.

Commercial operations at Amritsar airport, which was suspended early in the day, began even as the airports in Chandigarh, Pathankot, Halwara, Adampur and Bathinda remained on high alert in view of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.
"The arrival and departure of all civil flights from Amritsar international airport, which was suspended earlier, has began," Guru Ram Dass International Airport Director Manoj Chansoria said.
However, official sources said the airports in Chandigarh, Amritsar, Halwara, Pathankot, Adampur, Bathinda, Sirsa and Ambala have been put on high alert.
Chandigarh airport director Suneel Dutt said commercial operations were on. Earlier operations at Chandigarh were halted for sometime.