U.S. must ensure tensions between India and Pakistan don't go out of control: Albright

Ms. Albright said the confrontation between India and Pakistan is a test case to see whether Trump administration is equipped to manage a serious international crisis.

March 02, 2019 04:57 pm | Updated 06:17 pm IST - Washington:

In this February 16, 2019 file photo, Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright attends Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany.

In this February 16, 2019 file photo, Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright attends Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany.

The US needs to figure out some way to make sure that there is no nuclear confrontation between Pakistan and India, a former top American diplomat said.

Tensions have escalated between India and Pakistan after the February 14 Pulwama attack claimed by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Forty CRPF soldiers were killed in the attack.

India carried out air strikes against the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot on February 26. Pakistan also tried to target Indian military installation the next day.

Madeleine Albright, who was the US Secretary of State 1997 to 2001 in the second term of the Clinton administration, said, “I do think that we do need to figure out some way to make sure that we don’t have a nuclear confrontation.

“I think the US needs to get involved in this, and I think that it is -- it would be a good idea, actually, to have some kind of an envoy trying to deal with this. We can’t allow this to get out of control, Ms. Albright said responding to a question from Congressman Brad Sherman during a hearing on Trump Administration Foreign Policy Assessment on Wednesday.

Ms. Albright said the confrontation between India and Pakistan is a test case to see whether Trump administration is equipped to manage a serious international crisis.

“With a dangerous confrontation underway between two nuclear armed states in India and Pakistan, we may soon get to see whether this administration is equipped to manage a serious international crisis, she said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.