Pakistan will “defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio amid tensions with India.
Sharif conveyed to the US “Pakistan’s strong condemnation of India’s missile and drone strikes that had led to the death of 31 civilians, injured 57 others and damaged civilian infrastructures,” his office said in a statement.
This was the second call from Rubio to Sharif since tensions triggered by the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 people.
The situation took a new turn after India launched missile strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Tuesday night, targeting nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites.
“India’s attacks had violated Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while gravely jeopardizing peace and stability in the South Asia region,” Sharif told Rubio.
Appreciating President Donald Trump’s “concern” over the current security situation in South Asia, Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s “firm resolve to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs.”
Nothing that the people of Pakistan were “outraged by India’s unprovoked acts of war,” Sharif stressed that Islamabad “reserved the right to act in self-defense,” according to the UN Charter.
Rubio, according to the statement, said that the US was “closely following the situation in the South Asia as it was committed to promoting peace and stability in the region.”
Rubio called on both Pakistan and India to work closely to “de-escalate the situation.”
Pakistan said at least 31 people were killed and 57 others injured in India’s “Operation Sindoor” and cross-border firing. Officials said forces shot down five Indian fighter jets after the missile strikes and vowed to retaliate.
India said at least 16 people were killed in the border firing.
Separately, both Islamabad and New Delhi on Thursday said they shot down overnight drones and missiles over different locations including densely populated cities.
Pakistan, which denied launching any projectiles, said the drones that were shot down were Israeli-made Harops and three people were killed and four army personnel injured in the attacks.