Washington, May 7
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that he is closely monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan, following Indian missile strikes on multiple sites in Pakistan.
https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1919902403999965441
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Rubio said, "I am monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely. I echo President Trump's comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution."
His remarks follow those of President Donald Trump, who earlier in the day acknowledged the reports of the Indian strikes and expressed hope that tensions would de-escalate swiftly. "We just heard about it as we were walking through the doors of the Oval. Just heard about it. 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. They've been fighting for many, many decades. And centuries, actually, if you think about it. I hope it ends very quickly," Trump said.
The US State Department also addressed the situation, though refrained from making a detailed assessment. A spokesperson told ANI, "We are aware of the reports, however we have no assessment to offer at this time. This remains an evolving situation, and we are closely monitoring developments."
Earlier, US President Donald Trump responded to reports of the Indian missile strikes inside Pakistani territory, saying that the development was expected and urged a swift end to hostilities.
"We just heard about it as we were walking through the doors of the Oval. Just heard about it. 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. They've been fighting for many, many decades. And centuries, actually, if you think about it. I hope it ends very quickly," Trump said.
The comments come in the wake of Indian strikes under "Operation Sindoor," which targeted nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. India's Ministry of Defence said the action was in direct response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen. The ministry stated, "Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted."
Indian Armed Forces successfully struck nine terror targets, four in Pakistan, including Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Sialkot, and five in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), using special precision munitions in a coordinated operation, sources told ANI.
The operation was jointly carried out by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, with the mobilisation of assets and troops. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was constantly monitoring Operation Sindoor throughout the night, sources confirmed to ANI. The strikes on all nine targets were successful, sources further revealed. The Indian forces selected the locations to target top Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders involved in sponsoring terrorist activities in India.
- ANI