Bhagwant Mann honored the Punjabi players of the Indian hockey team with cash prizes

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke Thursday with the prime minister of Pakistan and India's foreign minister as the Trump administration stepped up efforts to prevent the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals from going to war. In separate calls with Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Rubio ``emphasized the need for immediate de-escalation,'' the State Department said Rubio also ``expressed U.S. support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications,'' according to readout

American Republican leader Nikki Haley has supported India's action against Pakistan. She said that Pakistan has no right to play the victim card here, no country can be given the right to support terrorism. Nikki Haley said that dozens of Indians were killed in the terrorist attack in India's Pahalgam, so India has every right to retaliate and take steps for its security. It is noteworthy that Nikki Haley is a former governor of South Carolina and has been the US ambassador to the United Nations during President Donald Trump's first term. She was the first Indian-American to be appointed

Pakistan launched several drone and missile attacks in Punjab on Thursday night. The Pathankot airbase was targeted, a drone attack took place in Jalandhar. However, India's air defense system destroyed them in the sky. So far, there is no report of any damage in the attack. Drone movement has also been seen in Bathinda. The Indian air defense system shot down all the drones and missiles fired towards Pathankot airbase and Jammu airport. There are reports of two Pakistani F-16 fighter jets also being destroyed during the attack.