The Pakistani Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, talked to his Indian counterpart, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, by phone yesterday to discuss current tension between the two countries.
Mr Sharif told a public meeting that he had called Mr Vajpayee to tell him the two countries should resolve the problem across the table and that he agreed. Mr Sharif did not say whether the contact would lead to an early meeting to defuse the crisis.
"I told him that the issues can be resolved through talks and not by sending planes into our air space," he said.
Pakistan said it had shot down two Indian fighters on Thursday that strayed into its airspace, killing one pilot and capturing the other. India confirmed two fighters had been lost, but said only one had been shot down, while the other crashed following a mechanical failure.
Mr Sharif said any violations of Pakistani airspace or territory would meet the same fate. He was speaking to a large crowd gathered around the tomb of independence hero Mohammad Ali Jinnah to celebrate the first anniversary of Pakistani nuclear tests.
He said the 51-year dispute over Kashmir could be resolved through negotiations if the two countries adhered to the spirit of the Lahore Declaration signed by him and Mr Vajpayee in February. "As nuclear states we should avoid confrontation and conflict," the prime minister said.
The last phone contact between the two men was on Tuesday when Mr Vajapyee called Mr Sharif before Indian forces went into action against guerrillas in Kashmir.
New Delhi has accused Islamabad of formenting a Muslim separatist campaign in Indian Kashmir which has claimed more than 24,000 lives since 1989. Pakistan denies the charge but supports the unrest.