India’s foreign minister has told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that those responsible for last week’s deadly attack in Kashmir must be brought to justice, as Washington seeks to ease rising tensions between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan.
In separate phone calls on Wednesday, Rubio spoke with both Indian and Pakistani officials, urging them to de-escalate hostilities and cooperate in the wake of the assault that left 26 people dead. According to the State Department, Rubio reaffirmed US support for India’s fight against extremism and pressed Pakistan to assist in investigating the attack.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on X that he told Rubio the “perpetrators, backers and planners” of the April 22 massacre “must be brought to justice.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on the US to urge India to “dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly,” according to a statement from his office.
The attack occurred in Kashmir’s Pahalgam area, where Islamist gunmen opened fire on tourists, reportedly separating men, asking their names, and shooting Hindus at close range. Officials confirmed that 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
India has identified the three attackers, including two Pakistani nationals, as terrorists involved in a long-running insurgency in Muslim-majority Kashmir. Islamabad has denied any involvement, calling for an independent investigation.
Kashmir remains a deeply contested region, claimed in full by both Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, though each administers only part. The neighbours have fought two wars over the Himalayan territory. India accuses Pakistan of backing a decades-long militant uprising in its portion of Kashmir that has largely diminished. Pakistan maintains it only provides diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri cause for self-determination.
In response to the attack, both nations have taken retaliatory steps, including India suspending a key river water-sharing agreement and both sides closing their airspace to each other’s airlines. Indian forces have also reported nightly exchanges of small arms fire across the border over the past week, though no casualties have been confirmed.
Pakistan did not respond to a request for comment.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
Follow us on:
