Pahalgam terror attack: Rubio speaks with Sharif amid rising tensions between India, Pak

Islamabad: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday called Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif amid rising tensions with India following the Pahalgam attack last week that killed 26 people.

The development comes after US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce at a press briefing earlier on Tuesday said that Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan “regarding the Kashmir situation” and telling “them not to escalate the situation”.

Bruce also said Secretary of State Marco Rubio “expects to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow”.

A press release by the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office said that Sharif briefed the US secretary of state on Pakistan’s perspective regarding recent developments in South Asia following the Pahalgam terror attack.

Sharif highlighted Pakistan’s “significant contributions” in the global fight against terrorism and claimed that the country has “sacrificed over 90,000 lives and suffered economic losses exceeding $52 billion”, the release said.

The prime minister claimed that “Indian provocations” serve to distract from Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to combat terrorism, particularly groups operating from Afghan soil.

Sharif also rejected India’s attempt to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack and reiterated Pakistan’s call for an impartial investigation. He also urged the US to press India to refrain from making “inflammatory statements” Sharif also brought up the Indus Waters Treaty, which he said is the lifeline for 240 million people, and claimed that it contains no provisions for unilateral withdrawal by any party.

Separately, US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker on Wednesday met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as part of efforts to de-escalate tensions with India.

Following the Pahalgam attack, the deadliest in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019, India downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.

Meanwhile, in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told the top defence brass that the armed forces have “complete operational freedom” to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack, according to government sources.