WASHINGTON – US Vice President JD Vance has hoped that Indian response to recent attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam doest to lead to a broader regional conflict.
“Our hope here is that India responds to this terrorist attack in a way that doesn’t lead to a broader regional conflict,” Vance said in an interview on Fox News’.
“And we hope, frankly, that Pakistan, to the extent that they’re responsible, cooperates with India to make sure that the terrorists sometimes operating in their territory are hunted down and dealt with,” Vance added.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump and other top leaders have condemned the attack while expressing support for India without directly blaming Pakistan.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the US to impress upon India to dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly amid rising tension between the nuclear neighbours.
The premier received a telephone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday evening. He greeted the US top officials and conveyed his good wishes for President Donald Trump, while expressing Pakistan’s desire to work closely with the U.S. Administration on all areas of mutual interest.
During the telephone call, the prime minister shared with Secretary Rubio, Pakistan’s perspective on recent developments in South Asia, since the Pahalgam incident.
While condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, the Primej Minister underscored Pakistan’s leading role in the war against terror and its sacrifice of over 90,000 lives lost and over USD 152 billion in economic losses.
Terming India’s escalatory and provocative behavior as deeply disappointing and worrisome, the Prime Minister said that India’s provocations would only serve to distract Pakistan from its ongoing efforts to defeat terrorism, particularly from militant groups including ISKP, TTP and BLA operating from Afghan soil.
He categorically rejected Indian attempts to link Pakistan to the incident and pointed to his call for a transparent, credible, and neutral investigation to bring out the facts.
He said it was most regrettable that India had chosen to weaponise water, which was a lifeline for 240 million people of Pakistan, while also stressing that the Indus Waters Treaty had no provision for either side to unilaterally renege from its commitments.
Pm Shehbaz emphasized that peaceful resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute was the only way to ensure lasting peace in South Asia.
