New Delhi: Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State and interim National Security Adviser (NSA), urged Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir to de-escalate the ongoing conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad early Saturday morning.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir earlier today. He continued to urge both parties to find ways to de-escalate and offered US assistance in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts,” Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the US Department of State, said in a statement.
Rubio’s talk with Munir comes as Pakistan Saturday launched action termed as “Bunyan un Marsoos” against India, targeting a number of strategic installations in northern and western India.
“Pakistan’s blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western borders. In one such incident, today at approximately 5 am, multiple enemy armed drones were spotted flying over Khasa Cantt, Amritsar. The hostile drones were instantly engaged and destroyed by our air defence units,” Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) of the Indian Army said in a statement on the attacks emanating from across the border, early Saturday.
Rubio has been the US’ point-person on the situation between India and Pakistan since the 22 April terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which left at least 26 people dead.
The US Secretary of State has been in touch with the political leadership of both India and Pakistan since then, but Saturday is the first time that he has spoken to the Pakistan army chief.
India’s NSA Ajit Doval had briefed Rubio in the immediate aftermath of India’s Operation Sindoor in the early hours of the morning of 7 May. Rubio has since spoken to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif.
Rubio called for de-escalation and reopening of communication channels in his earlier talks with the political leadership of both countries.
He had asked Pakistan during talks with Sharif to take “concrete action” against terrorists in the country–an indication that the responsibility for the attack in Jammu & Kashmir last month lies with Islamabad.
With India, he has repeatedly committed to jointly combat terrorism. Jaishankar Thursday night informed Rubio that India will respond firmly to any military attack emanating from across the border.
For the third night in a row Friday, Pakistan sent drones and missiles across the northern and western borders of India, with India acting in retaliation.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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