Washington/Beijing: Top officials from the United States and China called on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise restraint in the aftermath of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on the nuclear-armed rivals to “not escalate” the situation and plans to convey the same message in phone calls to his counterparts in the two countries. The US also urged other world leaders to deliver the same message to the two sides.
“We are reaching out to both parties and telling, of course, them not to escalate the situation," State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, reading out a statement from Secretary Rubio on April 29. Meanwhile, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, offered US support for India’s effort to “hunt down” the perpetrators of the attack in a post on X.
China backed its close ally Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi calling on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise restraint in the aftermath of the terror attack in Pahalgam.
During a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Wang said China is closely following developments after the terror attack and backs an “impartial investigation” into the incident, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry.
As the South Asian neighbors exchanged border firing China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Guo Jiakun said: “China hopes that the two sides will exercise restraint, meet each other halfway, properly handle relevant differences through dialogue and consultation and jointly maintain regional peace and stability."
