‘None of our business, not getting involved': US on India-Pakistan tensions
Amid heightening tensions between India and Pakistan following cross-border strikes, United States Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said that Washington is not going to get involved in a conflict that is 'fundamentally none of our business'.
In an interview to Fox News, Vance said that the US is concerned anytime nuclear powers collide and have a major conflict.
'We cannot control these countries though,' he said. 'Fundamentally, India has its gripes with Pakistan. Pakistan has responded to India. What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit.'
The US vice president added: 'But we are not going to get involved in the middle of war that's fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America's ability to control it.'
Vance said that the US cannot tell either India or Pakistan to lay down their weapons, adding that Washington was going to continue to pursue the matter through diplomatic channels.
The Republican leader also reiterated that Washington hoped the tension between the two countries would not 'spiral into a broader regional war or, god forbid, a nuclear conflict'.
He added: 'I think the job of diplomacy, but also the job of cooler heads in India and Pakistan is to make sure this doesn't become a nuclear war. If it happened of course it would be disastrous. Right now we don't think that's going to happen.'
The vice president's remarks come amid the Indian Army stating that the Pakistani military had launched several attacks using drones and other munitions along India's entire western border on Thursday night.
Pakistani soldiers violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, stated the Indian Army on Friday morning. The drone attacks were 'effectively repulsed' and a 'befitting reply' was given to the ceasefire violations, it added.
The Indian Army also said that Pakistan had targeted Indian military stations in Punjab's Pathankot and Jammu and Kashmir's Jammu and Udhampur areas along the international border using missiles and drones.
The Indian armed forces had neutralised the Pakistani threat 'with kinetic and non-kinetic means' and no losses were reported, the Integrated Defence Staff headquarters had said.
On Wednesday, the Indian military carried out strikes on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Nine sites were targeted during the strikes, which were code-named Operation Sindoor.
At least 31 persons were killed and 46 injured in Pakistan in India's strikes, reported Al Jazeera. Islamabad claimed that the strikes killed and injured several civilians and called the operation a violation of its sovereignty.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that Operation Sindoor was carried out with 'precision, alertness and humanity' to ensure that civilians were not affected. He reiterated India's position that the action was 'focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature'.
The Pakistan Army retaliated by shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Sixteen persons were killed in the firing, according to India's defence ministry.
In view of the tensions, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepped up diplomatic efforts on Thursday and spoke separately with India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Rubio urged both leaders to pursue 'immediate de-escalation', the US Department of State said in two separate press releases.
In his call with Jaishankar, Rubio expressed US support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications.
'The secretary reiterated his condolences for the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and reaffirmed the United States' commitment to work with India in the fight against terrorism,' the release said.
On the other hand, the US secretary of state, in his call with Sharif, expressed his condolences for the reported loss of civilian lives in the conflict, the release stated. 'He [Rubio] reiterated his calls for Pakistan to take concrete steps to end any support for terrorist groups,' it added.
The terror attack at the Baisaran area near Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam town on April 22 left 26 dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.
On April 22, US President Donald Trump condemned the attack and added that his country 'stands strong with India against terrorism'.
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