The US has urged India and Pakistan to work together to “de-escalate tensions” after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last week killed 26 civilians.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio held separate talks with India’s foreign minister and Pakistan’s prime minister on Wednesday and called on them to “maintain peace and security in South Asia”.
India accuses Pakistan of supporting gunmen behind the 22 April attack at a scenic meadow near the resort town of Pahalgam. Islamabad rejects the allegations.
On Wednesday India also announced the closure of its airspace for all Pakistani aircraft, in the latest of a series of tit-for-tat measures taken by both sides.
The “perpetrators, backers and planners” of the Pahalgam attack “must be brought to justice”, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar wrote on X after speaking to his US counterpart by telephone, as Rubio expressed his sorrow and reaffirmed Washington’s support in India’s “fight against terrorism”.
Meanwhile, the top US diplomat expressed the need to “condemn the terror attack” in his talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
He urged Islamabad to co-operate “in investigating this unconscionable attack”.
During the call, Sharif rejected “Indian attempts to link Pakistan to the incident”, a statement issued by his office read. The Pakistani prime minister also urged the US to “impress upon India to dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly”.
Source: Websites
