U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called senior officials in India and Pakistan in an effort to defuse the crisis that followed last week’s deadly attack in Kashmir, the State Department said.

Pakistan is bracing for Indian military action before Thursday night, officials warned, but cautioned that neither side would benefit from a return to war.

India's foreign minister said he has told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that perpetrators of the deadly attack in Kashmir last week should be brought to justice, as the U.S. sought to calm tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.