NEW DELHI: The United States (US) Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, on Thursday held a telephonic conversation with the Defence Minister and discussed the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a statement said, "The United States (US) Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to express his sympathies and condolences for the tragic loss of innocent civilian lives in the recent dastardly attack by terrorists in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K)."
"During the conversation, the Defence Minister told the US Secretary of Defense that Pakistan has a history of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations.", added MoD.
"Pakistan has been exposed as a rogue state, fuelling global terrorism, and destabilising the region. The world can no longer turn a blind eye to terrorism," Defence Minister said.
Rajnath Singh added that "it is important for the global community to explicitly and unequivocally condemn & call out such heinous acts of terrorism."
The US Secretary of Defense reiterated full support of the US government in India's fight against terrorism. The US stands in solidarity with India and supports India's right to defend itself, Rajnath said.
The conversation between the top defence officials of India and US came a day after the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and encouraged India to work with Pakistan to de-escalate tensions and maintain peace and security in South Asia.
Rubio also held a separate conversation with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, emphasizing the importance of condemning the terror attack and urging Pakistan's cooperation in the investigation of what he called an “unconscionable act.” Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that those responsible for such heinous violence are held accountable.
During the phone call, Sharif rejected India's attempt to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack and reiterated Islamabad's call for an impartial investigation into it, according to a Pakistani readout.
Citing "cross-border linkages" to the horrific attack, India has promised severe punishment to those involved in the strike.
In the wake of the Pahalgam attack, deemed the deadliest in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike, India took a series of strong diplomatic and strategic steps. These included downgrading diplomatic ties with Pakistan, suspending the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, and immediately closing the Attari land-transit post.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the country’s highest decision-making body on national security, convened on Wednesday to assess the situation. This followed a high-level meeting a day earlier, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi consulted with the Defence Minister, National Security Advisor, Chief of Defence Staff, and the three service chiefs.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi was quoted as saying, “They have complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing of our response,” granting the armed forces full authority to determine the course of action.
