Indian Defense Minister calls for placing Pakistani nuclear arsenal under the supervision of the Atomic Agency.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh today, Thursday, May 15, called for placing Pakistani nuclear weapons "under supervision" of the International Atomic Energy Agency, during a visit to the headquarters of the armed forces in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir.

Singh's statements came after the worst military confrontation between India and Pakistan in about three decades, which ended with a ceasefire last Saturday after four days of escalation, raising international fears of the conflict escalating into a full-scale war between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

In a positive development, Pakistan on Wednesday returned an Indian Border Security Force personnel who had been in its custody since April 23, a move seen as a step towards easing tensions between the two countries. The Indian Border Security Force said in a statement that Border Security Force constable, Prem Sagar, was officially handed over to the Indian side.

The recent crisis erupted after an attack on April 22 in Indian-administered Kashmir, which resulted in the killing of 26 people. Despite no group claiming responsibility, India accused the "Jaish-e-Mohammed" group based in Pakistan of being behind the attack, while Islamabad denied the accusation and called for an independent investigation.

On the other hand, Indian Air Marshal A.K. Bharti denied targeting Pakistani nuclear facilities during the recent confrontations, telling reporters, "We did not hit Kirana Hills," referring to the area where Pakistan is believed to store part of its nuclear arsenal, according to Indian media reports.