US Vice-President J.D. Vance, who was in India during the Pahalgam massacre, on Thursday hoped that New Delhi’s response would not trigger a broader regional conflict and Islamabad would cooperate with its neighbour to hunt down terrorists “sometimes operating in their territory”.

Asked during an interview with Fox News if he was worried about India and Pakistan, Vance said: “Sure, I’m worried about any time you see a hotspot breaking out; especially between two nuclear powers. We’ve obviously been in close contact with our friends in India and Pakistan.”

He added: “Our hope here is that India responds to this terrorist attack in a way that doesn’t lead to a broader regional conflict.

“And we hope, frankly, that Pakistan — to the extent that they are responsible — cooperates with India to make sure that the terrorists sometimes operating in their territory are hunted down and dealt with.

“That’s how we hope this unfolds. We’re obviously in close contact. We’ll see
what happens.”

Vance is the third senior functionary of the Donald Trump administration to weigh in on the situation in the subcontinent this week.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio had spoken to external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday, urging de-escalation.

This was followed by a phone conversation on Thursday between defence minister Rajnath Singh and US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth.

Washington’s priority from the readouts and comments appears to be to pull the two countries away from a confrontation.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given full operational freedom to the armed forces to determine the “mode, targets and timing of India’s response”, Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar has said Islamabad would “respond very strongly” to any Indian escalation.

“Pakistan will not be the first one to resort to any escalatory move; however, in case of any escalatory move by the Indian side, we will respond very strongly,” Dar said.

Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir — who last month resurrected the “Kashmir is Pakistan’s jugular vein” line — on Thursday said: “Let there be no ambiguity: any military misadventure by India will be met with a swift, resolute, and notch-up response.”

He added: “While Pakistan remains committed to regional peace, our preparedness and resolve to safeguard national interests is absolute.”

UK appeal

The UK has urged all parties to take a measured approach and de-escalate tensions in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.

“On Sunday, the foreign secretary spoke to both the Indian foreign minister and the Pakistani deputy Prime Minister. We encourage all parties to take a measured approach,” Lord Ray Collins, a minister in the UK foreign, Commonwealth and development office, said on behalf of the government.

“We are urging all international organisations to urge de-escalation and proper engagement to de-escalate the situation.…”