Washington, May 2:
US Vice-President J.D. Vance has expressed hope that Pakistan will cooperate with India in tracking down the Pakistan-based terrorists responsible for last month’s deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

In an interview with Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier, Vance said,

Vance was in India on a four-day visit when the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people, occurred — making it the deadliest civilian attack in Kashmir since the 2019 Pulwama blast.

The victims included 25 tourists and one local resident. The attack was carried out on a remote scenic meadow accessible only by hiking or pony rides, making it a planned strike on unsuspecting civilians.

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also spoken with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging de-escalation and calling for Pakistani cooperation in the investigation.

On the domestic front, Home Minister Amit Shah issued a stern warning to the perpetrators:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also vowed to "pursue the perpetrators and their backers to the ends of the earth."

In the aftermath, India has downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan, paused the Indus Waters Treaty, expelled Pakistani military attachés, closed its airspace to Pakistani airlines, and shut down the Attari-Wagah border. In response, Pakistan suspended the Simla Agreement and mirrored some of the diplomatic actions.

India, however, relaxed its border closure on Thursday to allow Pakistani nationals to return home via the Attari-Wagah crossing. Pakistan has yet to reciprocate the move by permitting Indian nationals to return.