ISLAMABAD:

The US on Wednesday stepped in to help defuse a tense standoff between Pakistan and India, urging both sides to cooperate with each other in order to de-escalate tensions and maintain peace and security in South Asia.

US Secretary of State initiated separate telephone calls with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and discussed the recent situation in South Asia, following the Pahalgam incident of April 22.

According to an official handout in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif apprised Rubio of Pakistan’s perspective regarding the recent developments and urged the US to impress upon India to dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly.

Since last week, tensions have escalated between Pakistan and India after the latter’s baseless allegations against Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 tourists.

On Wednesday, India announced punitive measures, including downgrading of diplomatic ties, suspension of Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), expulsion of the Pakistani citizens, and closure of the Wagah-Attari border crossing and the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi.

Pakistan also gave a matching response, and closed the country’s airspace for Indian planes. Pakistan warned that any attempt by India to stop the flow of water to Pakistan would be considered as an act of war, and would get a befitting reply.

The prime minister also offered Pakistan’s cooperation to India in holding a transparent investigation into the attack. Pakistan has also expressed concerned over the incident and offered condolences to the victims’ families.

In Washington, State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Secretary Rubio called on the Pakistan prime minister to condemn the Pahalgam attack and cooperate in an investigation, while also encouraging India to de-escalate.

Secretary Rubio “spoke of the need to condemn the terror attack on April 22 in Pahalgam”, Bruce said. The secretary “urged Pakistani officials’ cooperation in investigating this unconscionable attack”, she added in a statement.

In a separate phone call with Jaishankar, “the secretary expressed his sorrow for the lives lost in the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism”, Bruce said. “He also encouraged India to work with Pakistan to de-escalate tensions and maintain peace and security in South Asia.”

According to the handout issued in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz received a telephone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and briefed him on Pakistan’s perspective regarding recent developments in South Asia, following the Pahalgam incident.

While condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, Prime Minister Shehbaz underscored Pakistan’s leading role in the war against terrorism and the country’s sacrifice of over 90,000 lives lost and over $152 billion in economic losses.

Terming India’s escalatory and provocative behaviour deeply disappointing and worrisome, Shehbaz said that India’s provocations would only serve to distract Pakistan from its ongoing efforts to defeat terrorism, particularly from militant groups, including Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), operating from the Afghan soil.

The prime minister categorically rejected Indian attempts to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam incident and pointed to his call for a transparent, credible, and neutral investigation to bring out the facts. He urged the US to impress upon India to dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly.

Shehbaz said that it was most regrettable that India had chosen to weaponise water, which was the lifeline for 240 million people of Pakistan, while also stressing that the IWT had no provision for either side to unilaterally renege on its commitments. He also emphasised that peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was the only way to ensure lasting peace in South Asia.

On the bilateral cooperation, the prime minister highlighted that Pakistan and the US had worked together closely over the past 70 years and there was a lot that both sides could cooperate on, including counter-terrorism and enhanced economic cooperation, particularly the minerals sector.

He also stressed that his government had undertaken major economic reforms over the past one year, and consequently, Pakistan was now on the road to economic recovery. He conveyed his good wishes for President Donald Trump, while expressing Pakistan’s desire to work closely with the US administration in all areas of mutual interest.

According to the handout, Secretary of State Rubio thanked the prime minister for the detailed conversation and emphasised the need for both sides to continue working together for peace and stability in South Asia.

Rubio’s telephone calls followed a statement from the Information Minister Atta Tarar late on Wednesday that Pakistan had “credible intelligence that India intends to launch military action within 24-36 hours”.

However, despite the phone calls, India took further steps, shutting its airspace to Pakistani airlines. The government said in a notice that the ban would last from April 30 to May 23. The impact of the ban on Pakistan’s airline industry was likely to be smaller.

Only the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) operates routes to Kuala Lumpur using Indian airspace. PIA, the national carrier, said on Tuesday it had decided to avoid Indian airspace in the wake of rising bilateral tensions.

In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, a mass circulating American weekly magazine, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Washington Rizwan Saeed Sheikh urged President Trump to step in and help ease soaring tensions between India and Pakistan.

“If we have a president who is standing for peace in the world as a pronounced objective during this administration, to establish a legacy as a peacemaker, or as someone who finished wars, defied wars and played a role in de-confliction, resolving the disputes, I don’t think there is any higher or flashier flash point, particularly in nuclear terms, as Kashmir,” Sheikh said.

“We are not talking about one or two countries in that neighbourhood who are nuclear capable. So, that is how grave it is.” Sheikh argued that the Trump administration needed a more comprehensive and sustained initiative than witnessed in the past to defuse crises between two countries.

(WITH INPUT FROM AGENCIES)