Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday informed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Pakistan has the right to act in self-defense “in accordance with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter,” as Vice President JD Vance made clear Washington will not get involved in the conflict between Islamabad and Delhi.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Rubio called Sharif to discuss the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India. During the call, the prime minister strongly condemned India’s missile and drone strikes that killed 31 innocent civilians and injured 57 others, in addition to damaging civilian infrastructure. He said India had violated Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing the actions had gravely jeopardized peace and stability in South Asia.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s firm resolve to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs, Sharif made clear the people of Pakistan were outraged by India’s unprovoked acts of war. He also expressed appreciation for U.S. President Donald Trump’s concern over the current security situation in South Asia.
The statement cited Rubio as noting the U.S. was closely following the Pak-Indo conflict, as it was committed to promoting peace and stability in the region. He emphasized the need for both Pakistan and India to work closely to de-escalate the situation.
In a readout of the call, the State Department said Rubio had expressed U.S. support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications.
Direct talks
In a daily press briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce reiterated that the U.S. had urged both Pakistan and India to hold “direct talks” to reduce tensions. She said the U.S. was aware of Pakistan’s offer for a neutral probe into the attack, adding it would support any effort to ensure the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack were brought to justice.
She said Rubio had made clear to both states that they must de-escalate and pursue dialogue to resolve the situation. She said the escalating tensions of the past two weeks were “not surprising but very, very disappointing.” According to the spokesperson, the secretary of state had also spoken with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and discussed efforts to de-escalate tensions between Pakistan and India.
Hands off
In a separate interview with Fox News, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the United States wants to see tensions ease between Pakistan and India. However, he made clear, Washington has no intent to get involved in what he described as a conflict that has nothing to do with America.
Noting the U.S. would continue encouraging both sides to de-escalate, he stressed that any resolution must come from them. “We’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business,” he said. “Our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or, God forbid, a nuclear conflict,” he said. “Right now, we don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said, adding the U.S. cannot ask either Pakistan or India to lay down their arms.
After a terrorist attack in India-held Kashmir last month that saw 26 people killed, Delhi scaled down diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced it was holding the World Bank-brokered Indus Water Treaty in abeyance. After weeks of tensions, India launched strikes on cities in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir earlier this week, targeting mosques and even a hydropower project.
The strikes resulted in 31 deaths of civilians and 57 injuries, with Pakistan downing five Indian Air Force jets in the immediate aftermath. Additionally, per the military, Pakistan also shot down seven drones, and destroyed a brigade headquarters in Srinagar and several checkposts along the Line of Control. A day earlier, India resorted to the use of “kamikaze” drones in various Pakistani cities, with Islamabad vowing to retaliate “at a time and place of its choosing.”