The United Nations Security Council has urged India and Pakistan to ease tension and avoid military conflict, Pakistan said on Tuesday, as hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals surge after a deadly attack on tourists in disputed Kashmir.

ISLAMABAD—Iran’s foreign minister held talks with top Pakistani officials on Monday to try and mediate in the escalation between Islamabad and New Delhi after last month’s deadly attack on tourists in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir,

Pakistan carried out a second missile test in three days on Monday after saying it was preparing for an incursion by India, as Moody's warned that the standoff over violence in Kashmir could set back Islamabad's economic reforms.