India was working to secure the release of a soldier held in Pakistan but it will take "some days", the defence minister said on Sunday, following a dramatic spike in tensions between the neighbours.
India says the soldier was captured on Thursday after he "inadvertently" crossed over into the Pakistani side of the de facto border that divides Kashmir between the two countries.
Manohar Parrikar said the capture did not relate to the Indian military's strikes on militants that sources said on Thursday occurred several kilometres inside Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
"He had crossed over, which happens in border areas. There is a well established mechanism through DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) which has been activated," the minister said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
"Since the situation is tense right now, it will take some days to bring the soldier back."
India has evacuated thousands of people near the Pakistani border in Punjab state following the military raids on militant posts, which provoked furious charges of "naked aggression" from Pakistan.
The move followed a deadly assault on one of India's army bases in Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants, triggering a public outcry and demands for military action.
Indian and Pakistani troops regularly exchange fire across the disputed border known as the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, but sending ground troops over the line is rare.
Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged fresh fire across their border on Saturday as UN chief Ban Ki-moon offered to mediate, but there were no reports of activity on Sunday.