U.S. President Donald Trump was set to meet Syria's president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday following a surprise announcement that the United States would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government despite lingering concerns about its leaders' former ties to Al Qaeda.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reaffirmed India's longstanding policy that all matters concerning Jammu and Kashmir are strictly bilateral between India and Pakistan, excluding any third-party involvement.

Mohammad Iqbal was working the nightshift at a power plant when he got a frantic call from his family saying artillery shells were exploding around their home.

Pakistan returned a captured border guard to India on Wednesday, in a fresh sign of detente after a ceasefire ended four days of conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Pakistan on Tuesday declared a staff member of the Indian High Commission here "persona non grata" after India expelled a Pakistani official working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi for allegedly indulging in espionage.

A series of military strikes last week by India and Pakistan brought the nuclear-armed rivals closer to a broader war.

India said its long-standing position on Kashmir has been that it is a bilateral issue between New Delhi and Islamabad and there is no change of this stand.

With last-minute U.S. mediation, cooler heads prevailed between India and Pakistan. But a flare-up is inevitable.