NEW DELHI: The US stepped in to prevent any military conflict between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack as it asked both countries to work for peace. India has been weighing punitive measures against Pakistan for its cross-border adventurism, but in a phone conversation with counterpart S Jaishankar , secretary of state Marco Rubio "encouraged" India to work with Pakistan to de-escalate tensions and maintain peace and security in South Asia.
There was no readout from the Indian side but Jaishankar posted on X that the perpetrators, backers and planners of the attack must be brought to justice.
Rubio spoke to Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif before his talks with Jaishankar and urged officials' cooperation in investigating "this unconscionable attack". The state department's Hindi account on X said in a post Thursday that under President Trump, those who support terrorism would have to face consequences.
Condemn attack, revive direct talks: Rubio to Pak
The US state department’s readouts of Marco Rubio’s conversations with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and India’s S Jaishankar seemed carefully worded, even as the US secretary of state urged both countries to work together for peace.
“The secretary expressed his sorrow for the lives lost in the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and reaffirmed the US’s commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism,” the US readout on the Jaishankar conversation said.
In case of Pakistan, it urged Islamabad to work with India for peace and Rubio asked Sharif to “re-establish direct communications”, but avoided the same in the Rubio-Jaishankar readout. The secretary spoke to Sharif about the need to condemn the Pahalgam terror attack, something that Pakistan has not done except at the UN Security Council where it joined others as a non-permanent member to condemn the attack but not before working to dilute the statement with help from China.
According to the state department, Rubio and Sharif reaffirmed their “continued commitment” to holding terrorists accountable for their heinous acts of violence. Rubio had last month too in a conversation with Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar underscored the importance of continued cooperation on counter-terrorism between the US and Pakistan, while thanking Islamabad for the arrest and transfer to the US of ISIS-K operative Mohammad Sharifullah.
The two countries also plan to hold a counter-terrorism dialogue in June.
Rubio was said to be encouraging other foreign ministers too to work with India and Pakistan to defuse tensions and his conversation with Jaishankar followed statements by powerful Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar which have strong ties with both countries, asking them to exercise restraint.
Trump had strongly condemned the Pahalgam attack and expressed full support to India to bring the perpetrators to justice. However, he later also said he was close to both India and Pakistan and that they would themselves “get it figured out one way or the other”.
There was no readout from the Indian side but Jaishankar posted on X that the perpetrators, backers and planners of the attack must be brought to justice.
Rubio spoke to Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif before his talks with Jaishankar and urged officials' cooperation in investigating "this unconscionable attack". The state department's Hindi account on X said in a post Thursday that under President Trump, those who support terrorism would have to face consequences.
Condemn attack, revive direct talks: Rubio to Pak
The US state department’s readouts of Marco Rubio’s conversations with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and India’s S Jaishankar seemed carefully worded, even as the US secretary of state urged both countries to work together for peace.
“The secretary expressed his sorrow for the lives lost in the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and reaffirmed the US’s commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism,” the US readout on the Jaishankar conversation said.
In case of Pakistan, it urged Islamabad to work with India for peace and Rubio asked Sharif to “re-establish direct communications”, but avoided the same in the Rubio-Jaishankar readout. The secretary spoke to Sharif about the need to condemn the Pahalgam terror attack, something that Pakistan has not done except at the UN Security Council where it joined others as a non-permanent member to condemn the attack but not before working to dilute the statement with help from China.
According to the state department, Rubio and Sharif reaffirmed their “continued commitment” to holding terrorists accountable for their heinous acts of violence. Rubio had last month too in a conversation with Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar underscored the importance of continued cooperation on counter-terrorism between the US and Pakistan, while thanking Islamabad for the arrest and transfer to the US of ISIS-K operative Mohammad Sharifullah.
The two countries also plan to hold a counter-terrorism dialogue in June.
Rubio was said to be encouraging other foreign ministers too to work with India and Pakistan to defuse tensions and his conversation with Jaishankar followed statements by powerful Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar which have strong ties with both countries, asking them to exercise restraint.
Trump had strongly condemned the Pahalgam attack and expressed full support to India to bring the perpetrators to justice. However, he later also said he was close to both India and Pakistan and that they would themselves “get it figured out one way or the other”.
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