India-Pakistan tensions: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is slated to hold discussions with Indian and Pakistani counterparts. In a statement, the State Department said that Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan “regarding the Kashmir situation”.
As the tensions between India and Pakistan rise in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 tourists, the US has urged both countries “not to escalate” the conflict. At a press briefing on Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will speak to his Indian and Pakistani counterparts. Bruce added that Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan “regarding the Kashmir situation” and telling “them not to escalate the situation.
Bruce said that Rubio “expects to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow. He is encouraging other national leaders and foreign ministers to reach out to the countries on this issue.”
When asked for her remarks about Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s comments that Pakistan has “been doing this dirty work for the United States, Bruce said, “The only thing I’m really prepared to discuss here is the fact that the Secretary of State is going to be speaking with the foreign ministers of both countries.”
She added, “What I can tell you – obviously, we’re also monitoring the developments across the board in that region, and we – as you know, at multiple levels, I have to say – are in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan, not just at the foreign minister level, certainly, but at multiple levels.”
“We, of course, are encouraging all parties to work together for a responsible solution. The world is watching this. But I have no additional details in that regard,” Bruce further added.
Earlier on April 22, terrorists opened fire in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, killing 26 people, in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. The proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Resistance Front (TRF), claimed responsibility for the attack.
India has vowed a strong response as Prime Minister Narendra Modi allowed “complete operational freedom” to the armed forces to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack.