Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Thursday that he had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir last week, which killed 26 people and led to the current escalation between India and Pakistan.

The “perpetrators, backers, and planners” of the attack “must be brought to justice,” Jaishankar said.

Washington earlier said it was in touch with both India and Pakistan at multiple levels, urging them to work towards a “responsible solution.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss New Delhi’s options in the wake of the Kashmir attack. He has given the heads of the army, navy, and air force “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing” of India’s response.

The attack occurred during a four-day visit of US Vice President J.D. Vance to India. US President Donald Trump and Vance both hold strong views on Islamist extremism. There is a belief that, as in the past, these terrorist attacks are organized to take place during high level visits to India by American leaders – in an attempt to draw attention to the issue of Kashmir and remind the Americans of the dangers of a conflict between the two nuclear armed powers if this issue remains unresolved.

The terrorist attack was strongly condemned, not only by Trump and Vance, but also by the US secretary of state, the FBI director, the director of national intelligence, and the US attorney general,........

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