NEW DELHI, Dec 27: India on Tuesday expressed concern over operations in Balochistan and expressed the hope that the issue would be resolved peacefully through discussions. “The Government of India has been watching with concern the spiralling violence in Balochistan and the heavy military action, including the use of helicopter gunships and jet fighters by the Government of Pakistan to quell it,” an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said.

“We hope that the Government of Pakistan will exercise restraint and take recourse to peaceful discussions to address the grievances of the people of Balochistan,” the spokesman said.

The statement came in response to a question by the media on the standoff going on in Pakistan’s troubled province.