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.

(Reuters) - India said on Monday that it has reopened 32 airports that were shut during clashes with neighbour Pakistan, after a ceasefire over the weekend. The 32 airports are now available for civil aircraft operations with immediate effect, the Airports Authority of India said in a statement.

The military operations chiefs of India and Pakistan will discuss on Monday the next steps for the nuclear-armed neighbours after a ceasefire returns calm to the border, following their fiercest fighting in nearly three decades.