US secretary Marco Rubio speaks to EAM Jaishankar, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, urges 'immediate de-escalation'

NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday spoke to foreign minister S Jaishankar and Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif urging "immediate de-escalation" of tensions between the two nations.He also asked Pakistan to end "any support to terrorist groups"."Secretary Marco Rubio spoke today with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The Secretary emphasised the need for immediate de-escalation. He expressed US support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications. The Secretary reiterated his condolences for the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to work with India in the fight against terrorism," an official press statement said.Jaishankar assured that the response from India's side has been "targeted and measured". "Spoke with US @SecRubio this evening. Deeply appreciate US commitment to work with India in the fight against terrorism. Underlined India’s targeted and measured response to cross-border terrorism. Will firmly counter any attempts at escalation," he said in a post on X."He also emphasised upon the need for both Pakistan and India to work closely to de-escalate the situation," PTI reported citing state-run Radio Pakistan.This came as Pakistan launched air strikes in border areas of Jammu, including Jammu airport, prompting response from Indian Air Defence system. The latter intercepted 8 missiles at Satwari, Samba, RS Pura and Arnia sector, ANI reported citing defence officials.This came in retaliation to Operation Sindoor by Indian Armed Forces that targeted nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and PoK.A complete blackout has been enforced in Akhnoor, Kishtwar, Samba and other Jammu regions. Blackout has also been imposed in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Jaisalmer, Gurdaspur in Punjab along with Bikaner, Rajasthan.