Mike Pompeo’s book claims close India-Pakistan nuclear crisis averted.
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s latest book ‘Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love’ hit the stores on Tuesday. In his book, Pompeo claims that he was awakened to speak to his then Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj who told him that Pakistan was preparing for a nuclear attack in the wake of the Balakot surgical strike in February 2019 and India was preparing its own escalatory response.
Pompeo says that the incident took place when he was in Hanoi for the US-North Korea Summit on February 27-28 and his team worked overnight with both New Delhi and Islamabad to avert this crisis. He believes that the world doesn’t know the gravity of the situation and how close India and Pakistan were to a nuclear conflagration.
India’s warplanes had pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF jawans. After India’s response, Pakistan shot down a plane in a dogfight and kept the Indian pilot prisoner.
Pompeo and his team, including then National Security Advisor John Bolton, Ambassador Ken Juster, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, General McMaster and Admiral Philip Davidson, worked to convince each side that the other was not preparing for nuclear war. He credits his team for the successful resolution of the crisis.
Pompeo’s book paints a vivid picture of the crisis that was averted due to the quick and effective diplomatic efforts of the US and its team. He believes that the US was instrumental in preventing a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. He also emphasizes the importance of the US-India relationship and the need to deepen economic ties.
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