Quad ministers condemn Pahalgam attack without naming Pakistan

Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations: statement

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The Quad grouping of the United States, India, Japan and Australia called on Tuesday for the perpetrators of an Pahalgam attack that killed 26 in India Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to be brought to justice without delay.

The April 22 attack sparked heavy fighting between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India in the latest escalation of a decades-old rivalry as India blamed it on Pakistan, which denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation.

The US State Department issued, a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the grouping, who met in Washington, but stopped short of naming Pakistan or blaming Islamabad for the attack. India, till date, has not provided any evidence of Pakistan's alleged involvement in the attack. 

"The Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism," the ministers said in the statement.

They called on all members of the United Nations to cooperate actively with "all relevant authorities" in delivering justice to the "perpetrators, organisers, and financiers of this reprehensible act", without any delay.

Read: FO slams Modi's 'unfounded' allegations on Pahalgam attack

On May 7, the Indian Air Force carried out an unprovoked attack on civilian targets in Pakistan and alleged that New Delhi had targeted "terrorist infrastructure". The strikes killed multiple Pakistani civilians and injure many more. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF), scrambled to counter the Indian aerial threat, shot down six IAF fighter aircraft including three French-made Rafales. 

The strikes sett off an exchange of attacks between the two countries by fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery that killed dozens until a ceasefire on May 10.

The ceasefire was first announced by US President Donald Trump on social media after Washington held talks with both sides, but India has differed with Trump's claims that it resulted from his intervention and threats to sever trade talks.

India's position has been that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve their problems directly and with no outside involvement.

On Monday, India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, restated its position that trade was not a factor in the ceasefire.

"Relationships will never be free of issues," he said, referring to the United States, adding, "What matters is the ability to deal with it and to keep that trend going in the positive direction."