US VICE President J.D. Vance’s comments that a possible war between Pakistan and India would be “none of our business” is an alarming indication of the indifference the global superpower harbours towards this region. But it also reflects the cold, hard truth: that in a world riven by conflict, tensions in South Asia are not very high on the global priority list. This is despite the fact that ours is a nuclear neighbourhood, and the danger of hostilities spiralling into a nuclear exchange is very real. Mr Vance, while talking to Fox News, said that though the US wanted the Pakistan-India stand-off to de-escalate, “we can’t control these countries” and that war between the two South Asian states was not America’s business. Therefore, those expecting the US to jump in and douse the flames should realise that Washington is not overly concerned with trouble in the subcontinent. Moreover, while talking to the prime minister on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasised the need for Islamabad and New Delhi to have direct dialogue to defuse the crisis, again pointing to the fact that America was unlikely to enter the fray and save the day.

It must also be remembered that in South Asia, the US has had a pronounced bias towards India, as the latter is part of the US-led Quad anti-China alliance. Pakistan-US relations over the last many years, on the other hand, have been lukewarm at best. And considering the Trump administration’s isolationist proclivities, expecting American intervention in the subcontinent would be expecting too much. However, other states can play a more active role to promote a peaceful resolution to the current impasse. While Russia has deep ties to India going back to Soviet days, Moscow’s relations with Islamabad have steadily improved. Russia has also offered its good offices, should both states be interested. The Gulf states and Iran — both of which maintain cordial ties with Pakistan and India — also have the potential to act as honest interlocutors. But the fact remains that while foreign powers can play a firefighting role to douse the flames of the immediate conflict, for long-term peace it is Pakistan and India that will have to engage each other. Pakistan stands ready to talk, but apparently no one in India is interested in negotiations. New Delhi’s stance must change for peace to prevail.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2025