India-Pakistan Crisis: Vice President Vance Signals U.S. Will Stay Out

India-Pakistan Tensions Flare Up After Kashmir Attack

The bloodshed in Kashmir set a new crisis in motion. Just days after a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam claimed 26 lives, India launched a sweeping military response named Operation Sindoor. Their targets: terror networks said to run from within Pakistan and in the strips of land Pakistan controls across the Kashmir border.

Pakistan didn't sit back. It answered with a barrage of missiles and drone strikes against Indian military bases in Jammu, Pathankot, and Udhampur. Most incoming threats never made it—India’s air defense systems shot them down. But for anyone watching that part of the world, the danger couldn’t be more obvious. Nuclear neighbors, latest exchange, rising body count—none of it sits easy.

U.S. Signals a Step Back: 'None of Our Business'

Standing on Indian soil right as the violence unraveled, U.S. Vice President JD Vance wasted no time drawing lines. He told reporters that the crisis is ‘fundamentally none of our business.’ While he did urge leaders to de-escalate, his words left little doubt—there’s no appetite for another heavy-handed intervention from Washington. ‘We can’t control these countries,’ Vance admitted during his visit. He knows every word is scrutinized, especially with nuclear stakes on the table.

Meanwhile, behind closed doors, Secretary of State staffers were dialing up Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with less public messages. The U.S. still expects Islamabad to crack down on terrorist groups, but this pressure is happening by phone, not by force. Sharif reportedly heard direct calls to make “concrete steps” against militants—diplomatic code for “fix this, or else.”

This marks a notable shift. For years, every cross-border spike in South Asia triggered a flurry of U.S. shuttle diplomacy. Now, America’s priorities are stretched: supporting Ukraine against Russia, overseeing the ongoing fallout in Gaza, and trying to hold together coalitions across Europe and the Pacific. With all that, the Biden administration (and now the Trump-aligned team re-emerging) is showing it’s not rushing into every regional crisis, especially when both India and Pakistan are making moves of their own.

That doesn’t mean the U.S. is blind to risks. Both India and Pakistan have nuclear arsenals and long, bitter histories. But Washington is recalculating—not just because of distant wars, but because of how it now views India. As a counterweight to China, India’s partnership is critical. That makes tough talk and threats of sanctions less likely, replaced instead by diplomatic nudges and pleas for calm.

On the ground, anxiety is sky-high. Civilians on both sides of the border now brace for more sirens, shelter warnings, and the constant fear these skirmishes could spiral. Meanwhile, American policymakers seem to have decided—for now, at least—this is one fight they won’t take on themselves.