India, US Close Ranks on Kashmir Terror: Rubio Urges De-escalation Amid Renewed Indo-Pak Tensions
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In a signal of deepening strategic alignment between New Delhi and Washington, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Thursday disclosed that he had briefed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the heinous terrorist attack that shook the Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam on 22 April, leaving 26 civilians dead. Jaishankar underscored the imperative of ensuring that the perpetrators, facilitators, and masterminds of the carnage are held accountable.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Dr. Jaishankar stated, &ldquo;Discussed the Pahalgam terrorist attack with US @SecRubio yesterday. Its perpetrators, backers and planners must be brought to justice.&rdquo;
The diplomatic outreach follows Secretary Rubio&rsquo;s back-to-back conversations on Wednesday with both Dr. Jaishankar and Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif &mdash; a rare dual-track engagement reflecting the Biden administration&rsquo;s concern over rising Indo-Pak tensions in the wake of the Pahalgam massacre.
According to the US State Department, Secretary Rubio conveyed condolences for the victims of what he termed a &ldquo;horrific terrorist attack&rdquo; and reiterated Washington&rsquo;s unwavering support for India in its counterterrorism efforts. &ldquo;The Secretary reaffirmed the United States' commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism,&rdquo; said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, adding that Rubio &ldquo;urged Pakistani cooperation in investigating this unconscionable act.&rdquo;
In what appeared to be a calibrated nudge aimed at crisis management, Rubio also called on both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, restore direct lines of communication, and work towards regional stability &mdash; a delicate diplomatic balancing act typical of American posturing in South Asia, particularly when faced with asymmetric escalations.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit believed to be a front for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam killings &mdash; a move that has further hardened India&rsquo;s posture. New Delhi has long maintained that Pakistan continues to serve as a sanctuary for cross-border terrorist proxies, despite Islamabad&rsquo;s public disavowals.
Compounding the situation, the Line of Control (LoC) has witnessed a renewed spate of hostilities. For the seventh consecutive day, Pakistani forces reportedly engaged in unprovoked firing across multiple sectors in Jammu and Kashmir &mdash; including Kupwara, Uri, and Akhnoor &mdash; drawing proportional retaliation from Indian forces. A Defence Ministry spokesperson confirmed that the Pakistan Army initiated small arms fire overnight between 30 April and 1 May.
Further south along the International Border, Pakistan Rangers also opened fire at Indian positions in the Pargwal sector of Jammu district on Wednesday &mdash; a marked escalation that risks undermining recent backchannel efforts at stabilisation.
The flare-up comes at a time when Washington&rsquo;s Indo-Pacific calculus has increasingly placed a premium on bolstering India as a strategic counterweight to China &mdash; a context in which Indo-US counterterror cooperation has become more salient than ever. Rubio&rsquo;s outreach thus serves both as an expression of solidarity and a bid to prevent further deterioration between two nuclear-armed neighbours at a perilous juncture.
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Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs-India, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Jaishankar, Rubio call for justice as Pakistan-based TRF claims Kashmir massacre

India, US United on Pahalgam Terror, Blame Pak

Jaishankar, Rubio call for justice as Pakistan-based TRF claims Kashmir massacre

May 1, 2025 | 09:28 IST