The United States has strongly condemned the recent terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) that left 26 people dead, but declined to take a position on the region’s political status or on efforts to defuse rising tensions between India and Pakistan.
Speaking at a press briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the US “stands with India” and condemned “all acts of terrorism.”
“We pray for the lives of those lost and for the recovery of the injured and call for the perpetrators of this heinous act to be brought to justice,” Bruce said, referring to the attack in Baisaran Valley, a popular tourist site in Pahalgam.
The spokesperson added that Washington is “closely monitoring” the situation but stressed that the United States is not taking a position on the status of IIOJK.
“We are not now taking a position on the status of Kashmir or Jammu,” she said.
Asked whether the administration planned to revive past mediation offers made during President Trump’s first term, Bruce declined to comment. “The president and secretary said some things. They made their positions clear. I will not continue with something of that manner,” she said.
The latest attack, which Indian officials say involved militants with “cross-border linkages,” has sharply escalated tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Pakistan has denied all involvement, calling the allegations baseless and lacking verifiable evidence.
Both countries have since shut their only open land border, suspended mutual travel visas, declared each other’s defence envoys persona non grata, and cut embassy staff.
India has also suspended the Indus Water Treaty, a 1960 World Bank-brokered agreement that governs the sharing of water from the Indus River system. Pakistan has warned any attempt to block or divert water flows will be seen as an act of war.
