US Secretary of State Rubio speaks with EAM Jaishankar, Pak PM Sharif; urges de-escalation of tensio
New York/Washington (PTI): The US has encouraged India and Pakistan to "de-escalate tensions", reaffirming its commitment to cooperate with Delhi against terrorism and urging Islamabad’s cooperation in investigating the “unconscionable" Pahalgam terror attack.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke separately with External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday.
In his call with Jaishankar, Rubio expressed his sorrow for the lives lost in the “horrific” terrorist attack in Pahalgam that had killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists.
Rubio “reaffirmed the United States' commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism. He also encouraged India to work with Pakistan to de-escalate tensions and maintain peace and security in South Asia,” a statement issued by State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
In his conversation with Sharif, Rubio spoke of the need to condemn the terror attack on April 22 in Pahalgam and urged Pakistani officials’ cooperation in investigating "this unconscionable attack."
He also encouraged Pakistan to work with India to de-escalate tensions, re-establish direct communications, and maintain peace and security in South Asia.
Rubio and Sharif “reaffirmed their continued commitment to holding terrorists accountable for their heinous acts of violence."
A press release by the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office said that Sharif briefed the US Secretary of State on Pakistan’s perspective regarding recent developments in South Asia following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Sharif highlighted Pakistan’s “significant contributions” in the global fight against terrorism and claimed that the country has “sacrificed over 90,000 lives and suffered economic losses exceeding USD 152 billion”, the release said.
The prime minister claimed that “Indian provocations” serve to distract from Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to combat terrorism, particularly groups operating from Afghan soil.
Sharif also rejected India’s attempt to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack and reiterated Pakistan’s call for an impartial investigation. He also urged the US to press India to refrain from making “inflammatory statements”.
Sharif also brought up the Indus Waters Treaty, which he said is the lifeline for 240 million people, and claimed that it contains no provisions for unilateral withdrawal by any party.
Following the Pahalgam attack, the deadliest in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019, India downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
