India also has a long-standing policy of refusing to allow foreign mediation when it comes to the status of Muslim-majority Kashmir - a disputed region claimed by both India and Pakistan in its entirety - which has been at the center of the latest conflict with Pakistan and which India regards as a strictly internal matter.

India says its strikes into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan on Wednesday killed more than 100 militants.

The conflict between Pakistan and India escalated early Saturday as both sides targeted each other’s air bases and blamed the other for hitting them first. The Pakistani military said it began a strike against India in retaliation for recent “Indian aggression,