From India-Pak tensions 'none of our business' to 'mediated talks': US's big flip

In less than 24 hours, the United States went from calling the India-Pakistan conflict “none of our business” to claiming it had “mediated a long night of talks” that led to the ceasefire. But as US leaders rushed to take credit, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri made it clear: the ceasefire was a direct agreement between India and Pakistan, with no third-party mediation.

Minutes before official statements from New Delhi and Islamabad, Donald Trump jumped the gun, announcing the deal on Truth Social and congratulating both sides for showing “common sense.”

"After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Congratulations to both countries on using common sense and great intelligence," Trump posted on Truth Social.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio too said that the decision was taken after long talks with leaders of India and Pakistan.

"Over the past 48 hours, VP Vance and I have engaged with senior Indian and Pakistani officials, including Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, and Security Advisors Ajit Doval and Asim Malik," he said.

Vance, who earlier said that the conflict "has nothing to do with America's ability to control it," congratulated Trump's team and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a post on X.

"Great work from the President’s team, especially Secretary Rubio. And my gratitude to the leaders of India and Pakistan for their hard work and willingness to engage in this ceasefire," he wrote.

Just yesterday, Vance said the US is not going to get involved in a war that’s “fundamentally none of our business”.

"What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we're not going to get involved in the middle of war that's fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America's ability to control it. You know, America can't tell the Indians to lay down their arms. We can't tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. And so, we're going to continue to pursue this thing through diplomatic channels," Vance said in an interview with Fox News.

On Saturday, Misri, in a press briefing, made it clear that there was no mediation by a third party and India and Pakistan mutually agreed to a ceasefire.

"The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of Pakistan called the DGMO of India at 15.30 hours (3.30 pm) this afternoon. It was agreed between them that both sides would cease all firing and military action on land, in the air, and at sea with effect from 1700 hours (5 pm)," Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

The United States did play a role in de-escalation by placing direct pressure on Pakistan, linking the provisional release of a $1 billion IMF loan to immediate acceptance of the ceasefire, with the remainder contingent on full compliance.