Rubio says US monitoring India-Pak situation 'closely'

Washington, May 7 (IANS) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated he is monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan "closely." 

Earlier, President Donald Trump said that the Indian strikes on Pakistan were expected and that it’s his “hope it ends very quickly”.

In a post on X, Marco Rubio said, “I am monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely. I echo @POTUS's comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution.”

The Indian embassy in Washington also said in a statement that India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval briefed Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who holds an additional charge as the National Security Adviser, of the strikes.

“It’s a shame,” President Trump said at an unrelated White House interaction with news reporters. “We just heard about it as we were walking through the doors of the Oval ... They've been fighting for a long time. ... I just hope it ends very quickly.”

The Indian embassy said in a statement, “Shortly after the strikes, NSA Shri Ajit Doval spoke with US NSA and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and briefed him on the actions taken.”

“India’s actions have been focused and precise. They were measured, responsible and designed to be non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani civilian, economic or military targets have been hit. Only known terror camps were targeted,” it added.

The embassy said India has credible leads, technical inputs, testimony of the survivors and other evidence pointing towards the clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in this attack and that Pakistan was expected to take action against the perpetrators.

“It was expected that Pakistan would take action against terrorists and the infrastructure that supports them. Instead, during the fortnight that has gone by, Pakistan has indulged in denial and made allegations of false flag operations against India,” it added.

President Trump’s remarks were the first by an American official after the strikes.

Earlier, Tammy Bruce, the state department spokesperson, told reporters that the situation between India and Pakistan was “a dynamic, serious issue”.

She went on to reiterate the US position stated earlier. “It remains an evolving situation. We are clearly still closely involved in monitoring. We continue to urge Pakistan and India to work towards a responsible resolution that maintains long-term peace and regional stability in South Asia.

“We remain in touch with the governments of both countries at multiple levels. We are not watching from afar in that regard. We are engaged and we’re aware of various reports that are happening in the midst of this very delicate situation,” said Bruce.