US urges India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions after Kashmir attack

A military personnel with the Border Security Force (BSF) stands guard, as vehicles having Pakistani citizens line up near the Integrated check post, as they prepare to leave India after India revoked visas issued to Pakistani citizens, at the Attari-Wagah border crossing near Amritsar, India, April 27, 2025. India has suspended visa services to Pakistani nationals "with immediate effect" following an attack on tourists near Pahalgam in south Kashmir. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged India and Pakistan to work with each other to de-escalate tensions after last week's Islamist militant attack in India-administered Kashmir, the State Department said on Wednesday.

Rubio spoke separately with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday while expressing support to India in combating extremism and urging Pakistan to cooperate in probing the attack that killed more than two dozen people, the State Department said in separate statements after the calls.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil And Kanishka Singh)