US

The United States intervened on Wednesday to help deactivate a tense confrontation between Pakistan and India, urging both parties to cooperate with each other to discourage tensions and maintain peace and security in southern Asia.

The Secretary of State of the United States began separate telephone calls with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and discussed the recent situation in southern Asia, after the Pahalgam incident on April 22.

According to an official brochure in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif informed Rubio of Pakistan’s perspective with respect to recent developments and urged the United States to impress India to reduce rhetoric and acting in responsibility.

Since last week, the tensions have intensified between Pakistan and India after the unfounded accusations of the latter against Pakistan after Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Cashmira illegally occupied that killed 26 tourists.

On Wednesday, India announced punitive measures, including the degradation of diplomatic ties, the suspension of the Indo Water Treaty (IWT), the expulsion of Pakistani citizens and the closure of the Wagah-Attari border crossing and the high commission of Pakistan in Delhi.

Pakistan also gave a coincident response and closed the country’s airspace for Indian airplanes. Pakistan warned that any attempt from India to stop Pakistan water flow would be considered as an act of war, and would receive an adequate response.

The prime minister also offered the cooperation of Pakistan to India by celebrating a transparent investigation into the attack. Pakistan has also expressed concerned about the incident and offered condolences to the families of the victims.

In Washington, the state department spokesman Tammy Bruce said that Secretary Rubio asked the Pakistan prime minister to condemn Pahalgam’s attack and cooperate in an investigation, while encouraging India to climb.

The Rubio Secretary “spoke of the need to condemn the terrorist attack on April 22 in Pahalgam,” Bruce said. The secretary “urged the cooperation of Pakistani officials to investigate this inconceivable attack,” he added in a statement.

In a separate telephone call with Jaishankar, “the secretary expressed his sadness for the lost lives in the horrible terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and reaffirmed the commitment of the United States with cooperation with India against terrorism,” Bruce said. “He also encouraged India to work with Pakistan to discourage tensions and maintain peace and security in southern Asia.”

According to the brochure issued in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz received a telephone call from the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and reported it on Pakistan’s perspective with respect to recent developments in southern Asia, after Pahalgam’s incident.

While condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, Prime Minister Shehbaz stressed the main role of Pakistan in the war on terrorism and the sacrifice of the country of more than 90,000 lost lives and more than $ 152 billion in economic losses.

Finish India’s escalatorary and provocative behaviour deeply disappointing and world, Shehbaz Said that India’s provocations wouled 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 Balach Liberation Army (Bla), Operating from the Afghan soil.

The prime minister categorically rejected Indian attempts to link Pakistan with the Pahalgam incident and pointed out his call to transparent, credible and neutral investigation to highlight the facts. He urged the United States to impress India to reduce rhetoric and act responsible.

Shehbaz said it was very unfortunate that India had chosen to arm water, that it was lifeguard for 240 million people from Pakistan, while emphasizing that the IWT had no disposition for any of the parties to be unilaterally rang in their commitments. He also emphasized that the peaceful resolution of the JAMMU and Kashmir dispute was the only way to guarantee lasting peace in southern Asia.

In bilateral cooperation, the prime minister stressed that Pakistan and the United States had worked together closely in the last 70 years and there were many things in which both parties could cooperate, including counter-terrorism and improved economic cooperation, particularly the mineral sector.

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

According to the brochure, the Rubio Secretary of State thanked Prime Minister for the detailed conversation and emphasized the need for both parties to continue working together for peace and stability in southern Asia.

Rubio’s telephone calls followed a statement by the Minister of Information, Atta Tarar, on Wednesday night, that Pakistan had “credible intelligence that India intends to initiate military actions within 24-36 hours.”

However, despite telephone calls, India took more steps, closing their 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 prohibition of the Pakistan airline industry probably was less.

Only the international airlines of Pakistan (PIA) operates routes to Kuala Lumpur using the Indian airspace. Pia, the national airline, said Tuesday that he had decided to avoid Indian airspace following the increase in bilateral tensions.

In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, a mass magazine that circulated on the weekly American, Pakistan ambassador to Washington Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, urged President Trump to intervene and help relieve tensions between India and Pakistan.

“If we have a president who is defending peace in the world as an objective pronounced during this administration, establishing a legacy as a peacemaker, or as someone who finished wars, challenged the wars and played a role in the conflict, solving the disputes, I do not believe that there is any higher or more prominent flash point, particularly in nuclear terms, such as Kashmir,” said the Sheikh.

“We are not talking about one or two countries in that neighborhood that are capable nuclear. So, this serious is.” Sheikh argued that the Trump administration needed a more comprehensive and sustained initiative than that witnessed in the past to calm crises between two countries.

(With agencies contributions)