​​​​​​HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Thursday urged India and Pakistan to exercise "maximum restraint" following a deadly attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people.

Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "has not had any direct contact" with those governments in the past 24 hours, but is "following the situation very closely and with very great concern."

"We were very clear in our condemnation of the terror attack that occurred in Jammu and Kashmir on the 22nd, which killed a large number of civilians," Dujarric said at a news conference, as he encouraged both governments to "exercise maximum restraint and to ensure that the situation and the developments we've seen do not deteriorate any further."

"Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement," he added.