Washington (TDI): The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), comprising the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, has condemned the recent deadly attack in Pahalgam, located in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which left 26 tourists dead. However, the group refrained from blaming Pakistan, a move that has drawn attention amid escalating regional tensions.
The foreign ministers of the four nations met in Washington on Tuesday and issued a joint statement urging swift action to hold those responsible accountable. While strongly denouncing terrorism “in all its forms,” the Quad did not mention Pakistan by name, a notable omission given New Delhi’s assertions.
India has laid the blame for the April 22 Pahalgam attack on Pakistan, though it has yet to make any concrete evidence public. Islamabad has firmly denied the accusation, instead urging for a neutral, international investigation into the matter.
In their joint statement, the Quad ministers called for full cooperation with relevant global authorities to bring those responsible, whether perpetrators, planners, or financiers, to justice, though they avoided naming any country directly.
Read More: Quad’s Joint Statement Shows Division: Analysts
The situation deteriorated rapidly after the Pahalgam attack, with tensions rising sharply between India and Pakistan. What began as accusations soon turned into open military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
After Indian strikes on Pakistan which martyred innocent civilians, Pakistan’s armed forces brought down six Indian jets, including three Rafales, along with dozens of drones during the confrontation.
In response to Indian continued aggression, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos and struck several military positions inside India.
Read More: Quad’s Anti-China Claims Are Lies: Lin
After nearly four days of hostilities, a ceasefire was declared on May 10. US President Donald Trump announced the breakthrough, saying US diplomacy had helped calm the crisis.
While New Delhi offered a more restrained version of events and did not openly credit Washington, Islamabad publicly acknowledged Trump’s role and, in a notable move, submitted his name for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, praising his efforts in helping defuse a potentially catastrophic conflict.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
