Donald Trump offers to mediate as India-Pakistan conflict spirals

The Donald Trump administration to prevent the Indian missile strikes against Pakistan from moving to a nuclear confrontation, has provided mediation in the major international crisis that has exploded since the opening.

The US president said he hoped “they can stop now.”

“If I can do anything to help, I will be there,” he said on Wednesday. “My position is that I am in line with both, and I know very well and I want to see them working.”

India and Pakistan are facing their worst conflict in more than two decades, after New Delhi struck what was called “terrorist infrastructure”, and Islamabad said it had shot down Indian planes and promised to take revenge for the missile strike.

A spokesman for the Pakistani armed forces, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said on Thursday that the country’s air defenses shot down 25 Indian drones near several cities – including the main urban centers Karachi and Lahur – which killed a civilian and hit four soldiers, which led to Pakistan in Pakistan this week killed 32 and 61 injuries.

He described the alleged drone attack as “another blatant military action of aggression against Pakistan.” Indian officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Indian officials said on Thursday that the retaliatory strikes on Wednesday by the Pakistani army on the Indian side of the control line had killed its actual borders in Kashmir 13 civilians and wounded 59 years.

Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, was in contact with both countries and spoke separately to his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal Faisal bin Farhan on Wednesday to discuss how to defuse the conflict.

On Thursday, the European Union called on both sides to “exercise” and “stop other attacks to protect the lives of civilians”, with the speech diplomat Kaja Calas, saying that Brussels “will work with all parties to clarify the situation.”

But although the United States worked as a mediator in previous crises in South Asia, which led to a calming influence that helped avoid explicit war, Washington has distracted its attention by Ukraine and Gaza to be able to solve the Saddam of India and Pakistani, at least in its early stages.

Experts said that Washington’s messages since the attack were inconsistent. The United States strongly condemned the trigger of Indian missile strikes – a terrorist attack in Paalgam, in the disputed Kashmir area, on April 22, 26 people were killed.

But in the days after the attack, Rubio urged Indian and Pakistani governments to work together to “cancel tensions” and “preserving peace and security in South Asia.”

This did not decrease well in New Delhi. “When something like this happens, both sides are seen to cancel manufacturing in India as asking for Indian restraint, and this is not something the United States expects, for example, Israel after a terrorist attack.”

Meanwhile, India said that during an invitation on May 1 between US Defense Secretary Beit Higseth and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh, “Washington has repeated strong support for the US government to combat India against terrorism” and “supports India’s right to defend itself.”

Madan said this suggested a green light for Indian revenge.

After that, three days after the accident, Trump noted that the two countries “will get them in one way or another,” adding: “There is great tension between Pakistan and India, but there was always.”

Mawid Youssef, an older colleague at the Thought Center at the Blafard Center at Harvard University and former National Security Adviser in Pakistan, said that Washington’s approach to emerging tensions after the terrorist attack on April 22 was “more than previous crises.”

They may have calculated that another person would do it [mediate]”No one has done, but there is no other country, but the United States can force India and Pakistan to cancel the escalation,” Youssef said.

Youssef said that the United States “made diplomatic efforts” to resolve previous conflicts between the two countries, even with non -American allies such as Russia and China “to fall into a line” behind the initiatives. But it was not clear if the same thing would happen this time.

The conflict comes at a time when the United States is trying to deepen its relationship with India and Pakistan. New Delhi and Washington has an extensive strategic, defensive and technological partnership that aims to a large extent to the budget of China, and the two countries participate in talks in a bilateral trade agreement aimed at strengthening Trump’s threat by 26 percent of the collective tariff for Indian goods.

India has taken pain to keep the United States in view of the missile attack. Soon after Pakistan, Ajit Dofal, National Security Adviser in India, spoke with Rubio and his counterparts in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Japan, according to the source of an Indian government.

Pakistan was a traditional decisive buyer of American military services and is also a regional security partner, although this role has shrunk since the Taliban was directed to a government backed by Western in Afghanistan in 2021.

“His country will welcome” any role “, the United States and other partners can play them in mediation in tensions with India.

“The United States is a very important strategic partner,” he said. “We welcome any of our partners … for coming and helping to be independent arbitrators at this time stage.”

Participated in additional reports from Hama Gilani in Islamabad, Andres Shaybani in New Delhi and Henry Foy in Brussels