In Calls to Jaishankar and Shehbaz Sharif, US Secretary of State Urges ‘Immediate De-Escalation’

New Delhi: As India and Pakistan exchanged drone and missile strikes for a second straight day, US secretary of state Marco Rubio urged both sides to pursue “immediate de-escalation” and “direct dialogue” in phone calls with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Rubio reached out to both capitals amid their continued targeting of each other’s military installations and as the two nuclear-armed neighbours climbed the escalatory ladder.

On Thursday (May 8) evening, Indian towns and cities close to the border with Pakistan went through blackouts as the Indian military claimed to have intercepted another wave of drones and missiles.

“The secretary emphasised the need for immediate de-escalation,” said US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce in separate press releases issued after the calls.

The Trump administration official, who is also serving as national security adviser, had spoken to both sides a day earlier as well.

In his call with Sharif, Rubio urged Pakistan to take “concrete steps to end any support for terrorist groups.”

With Jaishankar, he reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with India in combating terrorism.

Rubio also expressed “sorrow for the reported loss of civilian lives in the current conflict” during his call with Sharif, according to the state department.

There was, however, little indication from either capital that tensions would ease anytime soon.

Pakistan’s state media quoted Sharif as telling Rubio that Islamabad “reserved the right to act in self-defense, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.”

Jaishankar, meanwhile, posted on social media that India “will firmly counter any attempts at escalation,” adding that he had underlined to Rubio India’s “targeted and measured response to cross-border terrorism”.

Rubio’s senior colleague, US Vice President J.D. Vance, seemed to advocate a more hands-off approach towards the South Asian crisis.

In an interview, Vance said that the conflict between India and Pakistan is “fundamentally none of our business”, though Washington has been seeking de-escalation.

“Our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or, God forbid, a nuclear conflict,” Vance told Fox News. “Right now, we don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Underscoring Washington’s reluctance to intervene strongly, he said:

“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to deescalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it. You know, America can’t tell the Indians to lay down their arms. We can’t tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. And so, we’re going to continue to pursue this thing through diplomatic channels.

There were also other attempts to find a way for India and Pakistan to step back from the brink.

In New Delhi, Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi held talks with his Indian counterpart as part of the annual joint commission meeting. But it was evident that the tensions between India and Pakistan dominated the atmosphere.

“It is not our intention to escalate this situation. However, if there are military attacks on us, there should be no doubt that it will be met with a very, very firm response. As a neighbour and close partner, it is important that you have a good understanding of this situation,” Jaishankar said in his public remarks at the start of the meeting.

Aragchi also met national security adviser Ajit Doval for a 90-minute discussion, during which the two reviewed the unfolding situation, according to the Iranian readout.

While still in New Delhi, the Iranian foreign minister called Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

According to Iran’s foreign ministry, Aragchi “emphasised, in light of his discussions with Indian officials, the importance of both parties making every effort to prevent further escalation and to de-escalate the situation”.

Dar, for his part, told Aragchi that Pakistan “is not seeking to escalate tensions”.

Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel al-Jubeir also met with the Indian foreign minister in New Delhi on Thursday in an unannounced visit.

Meanwhile, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani spoke to both his Indian and Pakistani counterparts, as did the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Tajani later posted on social media that he had urged both sides to lower tensions and said he had “gathered the willingness of both parties to de-escalation”.

“We will continue to work in this direction to stabilise the region and safeguard our trade routes,” he wrote in Italian on his official X handle.

On May 7, India carried out missile strikes on nine locations said to be hosting “terror infrastructure,” two weeks after a major terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists. It was the deadliest terror incident targeting civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Pakistan claimed that 31 civilians were killed in the Indian strikes, a figure that India disputes. New Delhi has also remained silent on Pakistan’s assertion that it shot down Indian fighter jets.

On Thursday, India said Pakistan had targeted its military installations using drones and missiles. India responded, the defence ministry said, “in the same domain with the same intensity” inside Pakistani territory.

India also accused Pakistan of heavy shelling across the Line of Control, which it said killed 16 civilians.