Pakistan, India suggest possible de-escalation amid both countries’ missile strikes

Pakistan’s foreign minister said Saturday his country would consider de-escalation if India stopped its attacks, after India said it sought non-escalation if Pakistan agreed to do the same.

Both countries traded strikes Saturday during the conflict sparked by a massacre last month, which India attributes to Pakistan.

Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s foreign minister, warned that “our response will follow” if India launched any strikes.

Dar told Pakistan’s Geo News that he also delivered his message to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who contacted him after the top U.S. diplomat spoke to India’s officials.

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“We responded because our patience had reached its limit. If they stop here, we will also consider stopping,” Dar said.

Rubio spoke to his Indian counterpart, S. Jaishankar, stressing that “both sides need to identify methods to de-escalate and re-establish direct communication to avoid miscalculation,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Saturday, adding that the secretary offered U.S. support to facilitate “productive discussion.”

India said it targeted Pakistan’s air bases after Islamabad fired several missiles at military and civilian infrastructure in India’s Punjab state early Saturday.

Pakistan earlier said it had intercepted most missiles and that it was carrying out retaliatory strikes.

Indian Col. Sofiya Qureshi said at a news conference in New Delhi that Pakistan had targeted health facilities and schools at three air bases in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

“Befitting reply has been given to Pakistani actions,” she said.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said India was committed to “non-escalation” if Pakistan reciprocated. But, she said, Pakistani ground forces were seen moving toward forward areas, “indicating an offensive intent to further escalate the situation.”

“Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness,” she said.

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Singh said India’s forces carried out “precision strikes only at identified military targets in response to Pakistani actions,” which included technical infrastructure, command and control centers, radar locations and weapon storage areas to ensure “minimum collateral damage.”

“All hostile actions have been effectively countered and responded to appropriately,” Singh said.

The Pakistani military said it used medium-range Fateh missiles to target an Indian missile storage facility and airbases in the Indian cities of Pathankot and Udhampur.

Pakistan Army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, said the country’s air force assets were safe after India’s strikes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.