OTTAWA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has urged India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any further military escalation over rising tensions between the two countries.

In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Freeland said that "Canada is gravely concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan."

"Dialogue between India and Pakistan is needed to identify a durable diplomatic solution and maintain peace and security in the region," the minister said.

Early Wednesday, Pakistan said it shot down two Indian planes in its airspace and took one pilot into custody one day after Indian fighter jets conducted an airstrike in Pakistan.

Hostilities between the two countries have increased since a suicide attack in Kashmir killed more than 40 Indian soldiers earlier this month. India's airstrikes this week represented the country's first attack inside Pakistan since 1971.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called for peace talks between the two nations on Wednesday.

Kashmir is a mountainous region on the border between the two nations, both of which have claimed ownership of it for decades.