Indo-Pak conflict ‘none of our business’, says Vance
US Vice-President JD Vance on Friday said the conflict between India and Pakistan is “fundamentally none of our business," even as he added that America is urging both the countries to de-escalate.
“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re 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. You know, America can’t tell the Indians to lay down their arms. We can’t tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. And so, we’re going to continue to pursue this thing through diplomatic channels," Vance has said in an interview with Fox News.
“Our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or, God forbid, a nuclear conflict," Vance said. “Right now, we don’t think that’s going to happen," he added.
The remarks by Vance are in line with the country’s President Trump’s “America first” foreign policy—calling for a retreat from America’s role as a mediator in foreign conflicts.
The remarks by US Vice-President came as Pakistan made a failed attempt to attack military establishment in Jammu, Pathankot and several other cities. India’s air defence system intercepted and neutralised at least eight missiles launched by Pakistan.
The drone strikes launched by Pakistan marked the latest round of tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries. India has maintained that it targeted “terrorist infrastructure” with its “Operation Sindoor” launched inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance and their three children were on their first official visit to India when terrorists killed 26 people in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22. Two weeks after the attack, India launched “Operation Sindoor” on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK.
On Thursday night, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urging both the countries for an “immediate de-escalation”. Besides, Iranian and Saudi Arabia Foreign Ministers were also in New Delhi on Thursday.
Vance, who has played a significant role in foreign policy in the new Trump administration, traveled to India last month, where he said that India could retaliate against “terrorists” in Pakistan but said the US did not want that to spiral into a broader regional conflict.
India