Marco Rubio urges India-Pakistan de-escalation

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday called for immediate de-escalation between India and Pakistan, and urged both sides to talk to each other.

“Secretary Marco Rubio spoke today with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The Secretary emphasized the need for immediate de-escalation. He expressed U.S. support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications,” US Department of State said in a statement. 

Rubio once again expressed his condolences for the atrocious terrorist attack in Pahalgam and vowed to work with the United States along with the India to fight terrorism. The increase between the two countries came after the killing of 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam by the terrorists. The Resistance Front, one the offshoot groups of Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, took credit for the attack. India conducted airstrikes, through Operation Sindoor, on Wednesday, which struck the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Earlier, President Donald Trump said, Washington's partner India and U.S. ally Pakistan have "gone tit-for-tat," and that he hoped the two nuclear-armed Asian neighbors could stop further escalations.

“They've gone tit-for-tat, so hopefully they can stop now,” Trump said at the White House on Wednesday, adding he knew both sides “very well” and wanted “to see them work it out.”