US Secretary of State dials Pakistan PM on escalating tensions with India

Islamabad: United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday called Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the administration led by US President Donald Trump made a fresh attempt to de-escalate tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi.

During the phone call, Sharif strongly condemned India’s missile and drone strikes in Pakistan, which have claimed at least 31 lives and injured 57 others.

“Pakistan reserves the right to act in self-defence, in accordance with Article-51 of the UN Charter,” maintained Sharif.

As per details from the Prime Minister’s House, Sharif accused India of violating Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity while gravely jeopardizing peace and stability in the South Asia region.

“The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s firm resolve to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs,” PM house press release stated.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington is keeping a close eye on the situation and is monitoring the crisis, expressing serious concerns over the deteriorating security situation in South Asia.

“To this end, he emphasised upon the need for both Pakistan and India to work closely to de-escalate the situation,” read the PM House statement.

India on Thursday said that Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles on the night of May 7-8 which were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems.

However, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who held a media conference alongside DGISPR Lt. General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, rejected India’s claims.

“Today, there was a political statement that yesterday night, Pakistan tried to attack Indian installations. It is not true,” said Dar.

Addressing the media, DGISPR revealed that three missiles were fired by India towards Pakistan, claiming that two missiles were deliberately targeted in India’s Punjab, while one was intercepted over Dinga, stating that its debris was picked up from DInga area near Gujranwala.

IANS