US, EU call for de-escalation as India vows 'firm response'

India's key partners such as the US and the European Union (EU) on Thursday expressed solidarity over the Pahalgam terror attack and called for restraint and immediate de-escalation as external affairs minister S Jaishankar made it clear that any military attacks from Pakistan will be met with a "very, very firm response".

- Rezaul H Laskar

NEW DELHI:

India has no intention to escalate the situation with Pakistan and was compelled to respond to the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 by striking "cross-border terrorist infrastructure" on Wednesday, Jaishankar said in televised remarks at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi.

Jaishankar said Araghchi was visiting at a time when India is responding to "particularly barbaric terrorist attack" at Pahalgam. "It is not our intention to escalate this situation. However, if there are military attacks on us, there should be no doubt that it will be met with a very, very firm response," he said.

After India and Pakistan both carried out strikes against military targets on Thursday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio dialled Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to call for de-escalation.