WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump termed rising tension between India and Pakistan a shame, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to officials in the nuclear-armed rivals after India attacked several sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
India is an important U.S. partner for Washington, which aims to counter China’s rising influence, while Pakistan remains an ally, despite its diminished importance after the U.S. withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
Pakistan said it was mounting a response to India’s military actions late on Tuesday, which followed an Islamist militant attack that killed 26 in the Indian-administered side of the Himalayan region on April 22.
“It’s a shame, we just heard about it,” Trump told reporters, opens new tab at the White House. “I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time.”
He added, “I just hope it ends very quickly.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X, he was monitoring the situation closely, while adding that Washington would continue to engage the Asian neighbors to reach a “peaceful resolution.”
The State Department said Rubio spoke to the national security advisers of both nations, urging “both to keep lines of communication open and avoid escalation.”
The Indian embassy in Washington said Ajit Doval, the Indian national security adviser, briefed Rubio about the military actions, which took place early on Wednesday in Asia.
In recent days, Washington urged the neighbors to work with each other to de-escalate tensions and arrive at a “responsible solution.”
Top U.S. leaders, including Trump, offered support to India after the April 22 attack. American officials did not directly blame Pakistan.
Last month analysts said Washington may leave India and Pakistan on their own in the early days of the tension, in part because it has a lot to deal with in achieving diplomatic goals in Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza.
India and Pakistan will figure out relations between themselves, Trump said on April 25: “They’ll get it figured out one way or the other.”
In recent days, the U.S. State Department has said it was in touch with both nations at multiple levels and Rubio also held telephone calls last week with them.
Both Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan claim Muslim-majority Kashmir in full, with each controlling only part and having fought wars over the region.
India blamed Pakistan for the April 22 attack. Pakistan denied the claims and called for a neutral investigation.
