NEW DELHI (AP) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called senior officials in India and Pakistan in an effort to defuse the crisis that followed last weeks deadly attack in Kashmir, the State Department said.
Rubio urged Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to de-escalate tensions on Wednesday.
India has vowed to punish Pakistan after accusing it of backing the attack , which Islamabad denies. The nuclear-armed rivals have since expelled each others diplomats and citizens, ordered the border shut and closed their airspace to each other. New Delhi has suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad.
Soldiers on each side have also exchanged fire along their de facto border, driving tensions between India and Pakistan to their highest point in recent years.
The region of Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. The two countries have fought two wars and one limited conflict over the Himalayan territory.
U.S. State Departments Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Rubio in his call with Jaishankar expressed sorrow over last weeks massacre. He also reaffirmed the U.S.s commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism, Bruce said.
Jaishankar on Thursday said he discussed the last weeks massacre in Indian-controlled Kashmirs Pahalgam, in which 26 tourists, mostly Hindu men, were killed, with Rubio, adding that perpetrators, backers and planners of the attack must be brought to justice.
Rubio also spoke to Sharif on Wednesday evening and emphasized the need for both sides to continue working together for peace and stability in South Asia, according to a Pakistani statement. It said Sharif rejected the Indian allegations and urged the U.S. to impress upon India to dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly.
Public anger has swelled in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers to the ends of the earth. A Pakistani minister has said that Pakistan has credible intelligence that India is planning to attack it within days.
Indian and Pakistani troops have exchange fire over the past six nights, with each side blaming the other for firing first.
The Indian army in a statement on Thursday said it responded to unprovoked small arms fire from Pakistan in the Kupwara, Uri and Akhnoor sectors of Indian-controlled Kashmir. The previous day, Pakistans state-run media said Indian forces had violated the ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control by initiating fire with heavy weapons on troops in the Mandal sector of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The incidents could not be independently verified.
In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes in the Himalayan region.
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Ahmed reported from Islamabad, Pakistan.
据美国国务院表示，纽约德里（美联社）──美国国务卿马尔科·卢比奥（Marco Rubio）致电印度和巴基斯坦的高级官员，试图平息上周在克什米尔发生的致命袭击事件后引发的危机。
鲁比奥（Rubio）在周三敦促巴基斯坦总理谢赫巴兹·谢里夫（Shehbaz Sharif）和印度外交部长苏布拉马尼安·贾伊尚卡尔（Subrahmanyam Jaishankar）缓和紧张局势。
印度在指责巴基斯坦支持此次袭击后，已誓言要对巴基斯坦进行惩罚，但巴基斯坦否认了这一指控。自那以后，这两个拥有核武器的对手互相驱逐了对方的外交官和公民，下令关闭边境，并互相封闭了领空。新德里已暂停与伊斯兰堡之间的一个关键水资源共享条约。
印度和巴基斯坦两边的士兵也在其实际边境沿线交换了火力，导致两国之间的紧张局势达到近年来最高点。
克什米尔地区被印度和巴基斯坦分割，并都被双方声索整个区域。两国为争夺喜马拉雅地区的领土已经打了两场战争和一场有限冲突。
美国国务院发言人塔米·布鲁斯（Tammy Bruce）表示，鲁比奥在与贾尚卡尔（Jaishankar）的通话中，对上周的屠杀表示了哀悼。他还重申了美国“与印度在反恐方面的合作承诺”，布鲁斯说。
贾尚克（Jaishankar）周四表示，他与鲁比奥（Rubio）讨论了上周在印度控制下的克什米尔帕哈尔加姆（Pahalgam）发生的惨案，26名游客，其中大多数是印度教男性，被杀害。他补充说，袭击的“肇事者、支持者和策划者”必须受到法律的制裁。
巴基斯坦的一份声明中提到，鲁比奥在周三晚上也与沙里夫进行了交谈，并强调了双方继续共同努力以促进南亚和平与稳定的必要性。声明中指出，沙里夫驳斥了印度的指控，并敦促美国对印度施加压力，使其降低言论的激烈程度并采取负责任的行动。
印度国内民愤高涨，总理纳伦德拉·莫迪誓言要将袭击者追捕到底。一名巴基斯坦部长表示，巴基斯坦有“可靠情报”，称印度计划在数日内对其发动攻击。
在过去的六天里，印度和巴基斯坦军队互相开火，双方都指责对方首先开火。
印度军方在周四的一份声明中表示，他们回应了巴基斯坦在印控克什米尔的Kupwara、Uri和Akhnoor地区发起的“无端”的小型武器射击。前一天，巴基斯坦的官方媒体称，印度军队违反了《控制线》附近的停火协议，在巴控克什米尔的Mandal地区对巴军发起了重武器攻击。这些事件无法独立证实。
过去，双方曾互相指责对方在喜马拉雅地区挑起边境冲突。
Ahmed从巴基斯坦的伊斯兰堡进行了报道。