US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held separate conversations on Wednesday with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, emphasizing the need to maintain peace and stability in South Asia, BBC reported.
Rubio also stressed the importance of condemning the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, which India blames on Pakistan-based militants. Islamabad has strongly denied any involvement.
In a retaliatory move on Wednesday, India closed its airspace to all Pakistani aircraft—part of a growing list of tit-for-tat actions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
During his call with Sharif, Rubio urged Pakistan to assist in the investigation into what he called an “unconscionable attack.” In response, Sharif rejected what he described as India's “baseless allegations” and urged the US to encourage New Delhi to tone down its rhetoric and act responsibly.
Speculation is growing over whether India will launch military strikes in response to the attack, as it did following major militant incidents in 2016 and 2019. Pakistan has warned it would retaliate against any military action.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held a series of high-level meetings with senior defence and state officials in Delhi. On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Modi, convened for the second time since the attack, underscoring the seriousness of the situation.
This came a day after the prime minister, in his meeting with India's top defence officials, gave the armed forces a free hand to decide on the "timing, targets and mode" in their response to the Pahalgam attack, according to Indian news outlets citing unnamed sources.
Troops from both sides have traded intermittent small-arms fire across the border for the past few days.
On Tuesday India "strongly objected" to multiple ceasefire violations by Pakistan during a weekly call between senior army officials of both countries, Indian news outlets reported.
A day later, India announced that it would not allow any Pakistani aircraft - commercial or military - to fly over its airspace, responding to a similar move by Pakistan.
Last week, India suspended most visas given to Pakistani nationals and asked them to leave the country within days, the deadline for which has since passed. It also suspended a key water-sharing agreement with Pakistan.
Islamabad further retaliated with similar visa cancellations and by suspending a 1972 peace treaty with Delhi.
