U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will soon engage with his counterparts in India and Pakistan, urging them to avoid escalating tensions following the deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, the State Department said on Tuesday.
Washington said on Sunday it was in touch with the nuclear-armed Asian neighbours at multiple levels while urging them to work towards what it called a “responsible solution.”
“We are reaching out to both parties, and telling, of course, them to not escalate the situation,” a State Department spokesperson told reporters, quoting a statement by Rubio.
Rubio expects to speak to the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan on Wednesday and encouraged other foreign ministers to do the same, the State Department added.
US Backs India
In public, Washington expressed support for India after the attack that was condemned by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, but it has not criticised Pakistan.
India blamed Pakistan for the April 22 attack that killed 26 men, mostly non-Muslim tourists. Pakistan denied responsibility and called for a neutral probe.
India is an increasingly important U.S. partner as Washington aims to counter China’s rising influence. Pakistan remains Washington’s ally even as its importance diminished after the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from neighbouring Afghanistan.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan, which each control only part of it and have fought wars over the Himalayan region.
Escalating Tensions
After the attack, India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that regulates water-sharing from the Indus River and its tributaries, and Pakistan closed airspace to Indian airlines.
They also exchanged fire across their de facto border — the Line of Control (LoC).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to punish the attackers. Pakistan’s defence minister has said a military incursion by India was imminent.
(With inputs from Reuters)
