arly in the evening on May 10, an announcement was made on behalf of the US president and the secretary of state that India and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire. The US secretary of state had been actively engaged since the morning of May 10 to ensure that the escalating military exchanges between India and Pakistan did not become a full and intense war. He had talked to the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and pleaded for restraint and ceasefire. He had also phoned Pakistan’s army chief. These phone calls were followed up with his active interaction with the leaders of the two countries. The American vice president was also part of the process. Earlier, Saudi Arabia’s deputy foreign minister had visited Delhi and Islamabad on May 8 and 9, respectively. American authorities were in contact with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye to ensure avoidance of a war between India and Pakistan.

Pakistani leaders told the American secretary of state that the war had been started by India and that Pakistan would only respond to Indian provocations. They said that if India showed restraint, Pakistan would do likewise. Pakistan also reiterated two policy positions that it had announced in the immediate aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist incident. First, Pakistan proposed an independent inquiry by a neutral international group. Pakistan offered full cooperation with such an international inquiry. Second, Pakistan said that it would not initiate military activity and would only respond to any military action by India. These two positions helped Pakistan gain considerable goodwill at the international level.

The US leadership issued a statement of concern on the first day of the post-Pahalgam conflict, but did not show any interest in getting directly involved to defuse tensions between the two countries. It stayed on the sidelines. However, its policy had changed by the morning of May 10; the US leadership was now actively working for a ceasefire.

The most intriguing questions are: why did the top US leaders get actively involved in defusing the conflict between India and Pakistan; and what led India, which had........

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