US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken to Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, stressing the need for India and Pakistan to de-escalate and open direct channels of communication, according to the US State Department.

Earlier, Rubio had also held a call with Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, where he delivered a similar message urging restraint and dialogue.

The back-to-back engagements come as tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours have reached their highest point in years, following missile and drone exchanges that have targeted strategic locations across the border, including airbases and civilian areas.

Even as diplomatic channels remain active, the military situation on the ground has intensified.

For the second night in a row, India retaliated and neutralised a wave of missile and drone attacks launched by Pakistan, which targeted 26 locations from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat.

The defence ministry said multiple attempts to strike key Indian installations — including airports and airbases — were successfully thwarted.

Government sources said India conducted retaliatory precision strikes on four major Pakistani airbases — Noor Khan in Rawalpindi, Murid in Chakwal, Rafiqui in Shorkot, and one undisclosed location — inflicting significant damage on military infrastructure. Explosions were reported across Islamabad, Lahore, and other Pakistani cities.

Pakistani forces also fired long-range missiles at Indian positions, one of which was intercepted and destroyed by Indian Air Defence Systems (ADS) in the western sector, the defence ministry said.

Overnight, India also launched strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s Neelam Valley and Sialkot in response to sustained drone attacks. Multiple Pakistani posts and terrorist launch pads near Jammu were destroyed, with defence sources stating they were being used to launch tube-launched drones into Indian territory.