Pakistan and India launched strikes and counter-strikes against each other’s military installations on Saturday, prompting U.S. calls for the nuclear-armed neighbours to begin talks and defuse their escalating conflict, the most intense since 1999.
Fears that the countries’ nuclear arsenals might come into play spiked when the Pakistan military said a top military and civil body overseeing its nuclear weapons would meet, but the defence minister later said no such meeting was scheduled.
Officials from both sides showed a willingness for now to take a step back following the day’s exchanges.
Pakistan’s foreign minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, told local television that if India stops here, then “we will consider to stop here”.
The Indian military said regarding Pakistan’s military attacks on Saturday that “all hostile actions have been effectively countered and responded to appropriately”.
Analysts and diplomats have long feared that conflict between the rivals could escalate into the use of nuclear weapons, in one of the world’s most dangerous and most populated nuclear flashpoint regions. Unlike India, Pakistan does not have a no-first-use doctrine.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif played down any immediate nuclear threat, calling it a “very distant possibility”.
“We shouldn’t even discuss it in the immediate context,” he told ARY TV. “Before we get to that point, I think temperatures will come down. No meeting has happened of the National Command Authority, nor is any such meeting scheduled.”
Pakistan’s information minister did not respond to a request for comment and the military said it had no immediate comment.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Pakistan’s Army Chief General Asim Munir and India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Saturday, urging both sides to de-escalate and “re-establish direct communication to avoid miscalculation”.
“India’s approach has always been measured and responsible and remains so,” Jaishankar said on X after the call with Rubio.
Indian Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told a press conference India was responding to moves by Pakistani forces but would show restraint if Pakistan did so as well.
“The Pakistan military has been observed to be moving their troops into forward areas, indicating offensive intent to further escalate the situation,” she said.
“Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness. Indian armed forces reiterate their commitment to non-escalation, provided it is reciprocated by the Pakistan military.”
