Kathmandu, – The United States has called on India and Pakistan to immediately reduce escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held separate talks with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to express concern over rising hostilities and stress the need for urgent de-escalation, CNN reported.
In the summary of both telephone conversations, Secretary Rubio conveyed that the United States supports direct dialogue between India and Pakistan. He encouraged both nations to work toward restoring diplomatic channels and improving bilateral communication to prevent further escalation and potential conflict.
During the conversation with Prime Minister Sharif, Rubio emphasized the need for Pakistan to take concrete actions to halt all forms of support to terrorist groups operating in the region. He made it clear that curbing terrorism is essential to regional peace and U.S. expectations in maintaining stability in South Asia.
According to Indian government sources cited by CNN, India has also appealed to the United States and other international partners to pressure Pakistan into stopping its support for terrorism. India has maintained that any military operations it has conducted are specifically aimed at dismantling terrorist infrastructure and not targeted at civilians.
Meanwhile, in his call with the Pakistani Prime Minister, Rubio expressed sorrow over civilian casualties reportedly caused by recent Indian strikes. Pakistan has alleged that Indian military action resulted in civilian deaths, while India insists its strikes were carefully targeted against militant facilities only.
The diplomatic outreach by the U.S. comes amid heightened military and political tensions between India and Pakistan, triggered by a recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam area. The international community, including the U.S., is urging both nations to exercise restraint and resume dialogue to avoid further escalation in the region.
The U.S. intervention underscores its broader strategic interest in maintaining peace in South Asia, especially at a time when the region is facing growing security and humanitarian challenges.
