India said Monday night it launched air strikes across the ceasefire line inside Pakistan's territory in response to a deadly terrorist attack on the Indian side of the disputed Kashmir region.
Why it matters: The strikes mark an escalation of tensions between the two allies of the United States — and both countries have nuclear weapons. The U.S. sees India as key to its Indo-Pacific strategy and Pakistan a vital partner in negotiations with Taliban leaders over the future of its neighbor Afghanistan, with talks in Qatar this week. However, former U.S. envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday the U.S. should cease giving Pakistan aid. "Pakistan ... has a long history of harbouring terrorists who have killed US troops in Afghanistan," she wrote in a blog for her new policy group, Stand America Now.
