US Vice President Vance: India-Pakistan conflict ‘none of our business’

Expert analyst, Michael Kugelman, says JD Vance’s stance signals US reluctance to mediate, as India-Pakistan tensions risk spiraling into wider regional conflict

WASHINGTON DC (MNTV) — US Vice President JD Vance has said that the escalating conflict between India and Pakistan is “fundamentally none of our business,” signaling a clear shift in Washington’s foreign policy approach amid renewed border clashes between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Vance emphasized that while the US encouraged both nations to de-escalate tensions, it had no intention of intervening. 

“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 a war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it,” he said.

“We want this thing to de-escalate as quickly as possible. We can’t control these countries… America couldn’t tell the Indians to lay down their arms. 

We couldn’t tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. So, we’re going to continue to pursue this through diplomatic channels,” Vance added. 

He also warned against the risk of a broader regional or even nuclear conflict, but stated that “right now, we don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Michael Kugelman, Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, said that Vance’s remarks reflect a broader retreat from active diplomacy under the Trump administration. 

“I think on the whole, the read I have of what JD Vance said is that it really reflects the Trump administration’s broad view of foreign policy — that the US should not be over-extending itself in international affairs,” Kugelman said.

President Donald Trump earlier this week offered to mediate between the two countries, calling the conflict “so terrible” and saying he had “good relations” with both sides.

But the Vice President’s remarks appeared to undercut that offer, emphasizing that the US would play only a limited diplomatic role.

While Washington may support de-escalation in principle, Kugelman noted that the Biden-era precedent of more robust diplomatic engagement seems to be absent. 

“It’s happy to express its desire for India and Pakistan to de-escalate, but the US is not going to expand significant levels of bandwidth to try to get the two sides to de-escalate,” he added.

The latest conflict erupted on April 22 following a deadly shooting in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 people. 

India immediately blamed Pakistan for the attack, alleging cross-border terrorist involvement. Islamabad denied the charges and called for an independent investigation.