US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will soon talk on the phone with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts at a time of escalating tensions between the two countries following last week’s deadly terrorist attack in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir.
State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday that the secretary will speak with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan as early as Tuesday or Wednesday.
She said the secretary is also encouraging other national leaders and foreign ministers to reach out to India and Pakistan.
India and Pakistan both claim the broader Kashmir region. Tensions have been mounting between the two countries since gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, killing 26 people.
Both India and Pakistan have since taken retaliatory measures.
In a meeting with the Indian defense minister and senior military officials on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the military complete operational freedom in its response to the terror attack.
Pakistan’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said in a social media post early Wednesday that the country has “credible intelligence” that India intends to carry out military action against Pakistan in the next 24 to 36 hours. The post also said, “Pakistan reiterates that any such military adventurism by India would be responded to assuredly and decisively.”
In 2019, India crossed the de-facto border and conducted an air raid in retaliation for a suicide attack in the region.
The United States is increasingly worried about the growing tensions between the two nuclear powers.
AloJapan.com