Underlining the “strong support” of the US government in India’s fight against terrorism, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday that Washington stands in solidarity with New Delhi and “supports India’s right to defend itself”, according to the Indian government. Singh told Hegseth that “Pakistan has a history of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations”. This is the first time that Pakistan has been named by a senior Indian minister in the context of the Pahalgam terror attack. And the most clear and unequivocal support for the Indian government, at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told the top military leadership that the armed forces have “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response” to the Pahalgam terror attack in which terrorists killed 25 tourists and a local resident. The call between Singh and Hegseth came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. In that call, Jaishankar said that “the perpetrators, backers and planners of the Pahalgam terrorist attack must be brought to justice”. Statements from both the Jaishankar-Rubio and the Hegseth-Singh calls suggest support from the US, in tune with Trump’s initial remarks on both sides figuring it out. The Defence Ministry said in a statement: “The US Secretary of Defence @PeteHegseth spoke to Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh earlier today and expressed his deepest sympathies for the tragic loss of innocent civilians in the dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir. “Secretary Hegseth said that the US stands in solidarity with India and supports India’s right to defend itself. He reiterated the strong support of the US government in India’s fight against terrorism.” During the conversation, the Ministry’s post said, Singh told Hegseth that Pakistan has a history of “supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations”. And that it’s important for the global community to “explicitly and unequivocally condemn and call out such heinous acts of terrorism”. Hegseth later posted on X; “Today, I spoke with Indian Defense Minister Singh. to personally extend my deepest condolences for the loss of life in the heinous terrorist attack last week. I offered my strong support. We stand with India and its great people.” In the call with Jaishankar, Rubio said that he “encouraged India to work with Pakistan to de-escalate tensions and maintain peace and security in South Asia”. Jaishankar posted on X, “Discussed the Pahalgam terrorist attack with US @SecRubio yesterday. Its perpetrators, backers and planners must be brought to justice.” In a readout of the call, US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said: “The Secretary expressed his sorrow for the lives lost in the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and 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.” Earlier on Wednesday, Bruce had told the press that Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan “regarding the Kashmir situation” and telling them “not to escalate the situation”. Calls for restraint and de-escalation are not new. In the past, too, in the wake of terror attacks, there have been similar calls. In 2019, after the Pulwama terror attack, Mike Pompeo, then US Secretary of State, had spoken to Sushma Swaraj, then External Affairs Minister, calling for de-escalation and exercising restraint. In 2016, after the Uri terror attack, John Kerry, who was then US Secretary of State, had telephoned Sushma Swaraj and called for de-escalation. Both times, India carried retaliatory strikes against Pakistan. Trump was the first world leader to call up Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Saudi Arabia, within hours of the attack. US Vice President J D Vance was in India, while the attack took place, and he, too, had called PM Modi. Both Trump and Vance had conveyed condolences at that time. Jaishankar has now spoken to Foreign ministers of South Korea and Denmark, and thereby completed his outreach to all the nine non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. Having faced a tough battle in negotiating a statement at the UN Security Council where Pakistan is a non-permanent member, Delhi had reached out to the non-permanent members of the UNSC. On Tuesday, Jaishankar had spoken to Foreign ministers of Algeria, Greece, Guyana, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia — who are currently on the UNSC for a two-year term as non-permanent members.
