US calls for bringing perpetrators of Pahalgam attack to justice: State Department

The United States has said it stands with India and strongly condemns all acts of terrorism, calling for perpetrators of the “heinous” Pahalgam terror attack to be brought to justice.

“As President (Donald) Trump and Secretary (Marco) Rubio have made clear, the United States stands with India, strongly condemns all acts of terrorism,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Thursday.

“We pray for the lives of those lost and for the recovery of the injured and call for the perpetrators of this heinous act to be brought to justice,” Bruce added.

Twenty-six civilians were killed on Tuesday when terrorists opened fire at them near Kashmir’s Pahalgam town. Most of those killed were tourists.

Responding to a question on whether the US sees Pakistan as potentially being behind the attack and if Washington is playing any role in trying to de-escalate tensions between the nations, Bruce said the issue was highlighted due to the severity of the situation but added that no further comment would be made at this time.

“What I can tell you is, of course, as we all know, it’s a rapidly changing situation and we are monitoring it closely, as you might imagine. And we, of course, are not now taking a position on the status of Kashmir or of Jammu either, so that’s really going to be the extent of what I can say today.” When asked if President Donald Trump had offered to mediate between India and Pakistan in his first term, she said, “I’m not going to be remarking... as I mentioned.”