India's Outreach to US in Focus After Military Strikes

India's diplomatic outreach to America was in the spotlight hours after India launched a series of precision military strikes on Pakistan.

- Shashank Mattoo

NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed the hope that India-Pakistan tensions would not escalate further after India launched precision strikes on several targets in Pakistan on early Wednesday. In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, America has expressed solidarity with India and has held high-level interactions with New Delhi. However, it has been unwilling to directly call out Pakistan for sponsoring cross-border terrorism.

Trump's statements over the last few weeks indicate that the administration wishes to remain neutral as India-Pakistan tensions escalate. Trump had stated that India and Pakistan had been fighting over Kashmir "for centuries" and that the two nations would "figure it out one way or another". Some experts believe that Trump's neutrality works well for India.