Top US diplomat to speak with Pakistani, Indian counterpart amid tensions

​​​​​WASHINGTON

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will soon speak to his Pakistani and Indian counterparts amid escalating tensions between the two nations, the State Department said Tuesday.

"We are reaching out to both parties and telling, of course, them to not escalate the situation," spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.

Rubio is encouraging other foreign ministers to reach out to those countries, she said.

The already frosty relations between the two neighbors were further strained after last week's deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, in which gunmen killed 26 victims.

New Delhi said the attack had "cross-border" links.

Islamabad, however, has distanced itself from the attack, expressing "concern" and offering to cooperate with an independent inquiry into the attack.

India suspended a decades-long water-sharing agreement, the Indus Waters Treaty, a move condemned by Islamabad.

The two countries have also shut border crossings, and further downgraded diplomatic ties.