US urges India, Pakistan to avoid escalation amid rising tensions after Pahalgam attack

Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the United States has said it is reaching out to both countries, urging them not to escalate the situation.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to speak with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday.

US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce at a press briefing 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.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio “expects to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow. He is encouraging other national leaders and foreign ministers to reach out to the countries on this issue,” Bruce said.

Rubio is speaking directly with his counterparts in both India and Pakistan. “It would certainly have the impact he's (Rubio) usually had with the individuals he's spoken with and certainly with President Trump's leadership, India and Pakistan having those conversations. It's very important for them,” Bruce said.

India and Pakistan remain at loggerheads following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 people.

In response, India has put the Indus Waters Treaty on hold. Signed in 1960, the treaty governs the allocation of water from six rivers—Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.