The Group of Seven (G7) major powers on Friday, the 9th of May, called on India and Pakistan to engage in direct dialogue as hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours escalate, while the US government said it had offered to help start “constructive talks”, according to Reuters.
World powers have expressed alarm at the latest escalation in the decades-long rivalry between India and Pakistan. Both sides accuse each other of cross-border firing and missile and drone attacks since India began its military operation on Wednesday. Dozens of people have been killed.
India said on Saturday that Pakistan had used missiles to attack its bases, hours after Pakistan accused India of attacking three of its military air bases.
The Indian army also accused Pakistan of “escalation” and “provocation”, while the Pakistan army claimed to have destroyed Indian S-400 defence systems, which Delhi denied.
Officials on both sides indicated their willingness to stand down for the time being after the exchange of attacks.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar told local television that if India stopped, “we will consider stopping”.
Indian Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told a press conference that India was responding to the actions of Pakistani forces but would show restraint if Pakistan did the same.
OF THE G7 POWERS, THE US HAS HELD REGULAR TALKS WITH BOTH INDIA AND PAKISTAN IN RECENT DAYS AND URGED THEM TO DE-ESCALATE THE SITUATION.
Following a telephone conversation on Friday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir, the US State Department said that Rubio had offered US assistance to “engage in constructive talks to avoid further conflict”.
Since late April, Rubio has also been in regular contact with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
President Donald Trump said this week that the escalating tensions were a shame. US Vice President JD Vance said the war between the two countries was “none of our business”.
In recent years, India has been seen as an important partner by Western powers. Pakistan is a US ally, although its role has diminished since Washington withdrew from neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021.
The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, Britain and the European Union in a statement expressed “strong condemnation” of the 22nd of April attack by Islamist militants that killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan, which denied the allegations and called for a neutral investigation.
“We call for immediate de-escalation and urge both countries to engage in direct dialogue to achieve a peaceful outcome,” the G7 statement said.
Kashmir is a predominantly Muslim region in the Himalayas that both India and Pakistan claim as their own, but each controls only part of it. The region has been the scene of wars and violence for many years.
This week, Pakistan announced that its top security officials had been in contact with Indian officials.