Washington,August 18(HS):
The United States claimed on Sunday that it monitors the volatile India-Pakistan equation “every single day,” with Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning that ceasefires between nuclear-armed rivals can quickly unravel.
Rubio’s comments came as President Donald Trump continued to spotlight his alleged role in brokering a truce between India and Pakistan earlier this year, crediting Washington with preventing the conflict from spiraling into a potential nuclear flashpoint.
India, however, has strongly rejected suggestions of third-party mediation. India has maintained that Operation Sindoor—a military campaign conducted in May—was halted only after Pakistan itself sought a ceasefire following heavy battlefield losses. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar categorically stated that no foreign intervention influenced India’s decision, contradicting repeated claims by Trump that his administration “settled” the standoff.
In recent interviews with NBC and Fox Business, Rubio argued that ceasefires are fragile by nature, citing the Russia-Ukraine deadlock as a parallel. “The only way to have a ceasefire is for both sides to commit to stop firing,” he noted, adding that Washington’s broader aspiration is not temporary truces but durable peace agreements.
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly invoked India and Pakistan in his public speeches, saying that through “a long night of talks” in May, he persuaded both sides to stand down in exchange for promises of expanded U.S. trade. He has mentioned his role in the alleged deal nearly 40 times since announcing it on social media, even as India flatly denies it.
Pakistan, by contrast, has echoed Trump’s narrative. Pakistan has publicly credited Washington with securing the truce, a position seen as dovetailing with its diplomatic outreach to the U.S. Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir’s two recent visits to Washington, coupled with a newly announced U.S.-Pakistan oil deal, are viewed as reinforcing that alignment.
While the actual drivers behind the May ceasefire remain contested, Washington’s insistence on daily monitoring underscores global unease about South Asia’s enduring fault lines—especially given India and Pakistan’s nuclear arsenals and history of unpredictable escalation.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
