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WASHINGTON: The Quad grouping of the United States, India, Japan and Australia called on Tuesday for the perpetrators of a militant attack that killed 26 in India-administered Kashmir to be brought to justice without delay.

The April 22 attack sparked heavy fighting between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan 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.

“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, organizers, and financiers of this reprehensible act,” without any delay.

India is an increasingly important US partner in Washington’s effort to counter China’s rising influence in Asia while Pakistan is a US ally.

On May 7, India targeted sites across the border that New Delhi described as “terrorist infrastructure,” setting 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.”

KARACHI: Pakistan has reported 14th case of polio virus this year in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the country’s polio program said on Tuesday, amid intensifying efforts to eradicate the disease.
Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) for every child under five during each campaign, along with timely completion of all essential immunizations.
The virus was detected in a 19-month-old boy in Miranshah-3 union council of KP’s North Waziristan district, according to a reference laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad. KP has reported eight cases of the virus this year, followed by four from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The northwestern region, which borders Afghanistan, has long been affected by militancy, with militant groups frequently targeting security forces, government officials and anti-polio vaccination teams.
“While nationwide efforts to eradicate polio continue to improve the quality of vaccination campaigns, the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remain a major concern due to limited access and challenges in conducting house-to-house vaccination,” the polio program said.
“These obstacles result in missed opportunities, leaving thousands of children unvaccinated and vulnerable to poliovirus.”
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains endemic. Islamabad made significant progress in curbing the virus, with annual cases dropping from around 20,000 in the early 1990s to just eight in 2018. Pakistan reported six cases in 2023 and only one in 2021, however, the country witnessed an intense resurgence of the poliovirus in 2024, with 74 cases reported.
Efforts to eradicate the virus have been repeatedly undermined by vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.
Militant groups have frequently targeted polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them, particularly in KP and Balochistan.
The polio program said it had conducted a special vaccination activity in six union councils of KP’s Bannu district last month and inoculated 17,485 children, and a similar targeted vaccination drive was being planned in 11 union councils of North Waziristan.
“Additionally, preparations are underway for a large-scale special vaccination campaign in South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, scheduled for August,” it said, urging parents to ensure their children receive the vaccine.
“Recent polio cases in South KP are a stark reminder that children missed during vaccination campaigns remain at serious risk. While the program is making every effort to reach every child, the role of parents is critical.”