A planned rematch with Devin Haney was halted due to Rolando Romero’s shock points loss to Ryan Garcia at New York’s iconic Times Square.
American Garcia, 26, outboxed in the majority of the welterweight fight after being dropped by a left hook in the second round.
Underdog Romero, 29, was deservedly awarded a unanimous decision with scores of 115-112, 115-112 and 118-109.
After winning over Haney in a no-contest in April of this year, Garcia had tested positive for the banned substance ostarine for the first time since serving a one-year doping ban.
Garcia said, “A whole year took a lot of my body, both physically and mentally,” adding that he would now return to the drawing board.
Before that, Haney, 26, won against fellow American Jose Carlos Ramirez in a unanimous but underwhelming matchup.
In a forgettable 12-round contest, neither fighter boxed on the back foot.
Images courtesy of Getty
Before Garcia fails, Haney underwhelms.
An overly cautious Haney, who was let down by Garcia three times last year, never really got going in a subpar performance after a year of layoff.
He avoided his jab because single shots were sufficient to elude the rounds and circled around the ring to land the sporadic lead left hook.
Defensively, Haney gave a strong performance, largely due to Ramirez’ lack of gun control.
The judges scored it 119-109, 119-109 and 118-110.
Former undisputed light-welterweight champion Josh Taylor of Scotland, who claimed on social media that Haney appeared “terrified” and “frantic,” was the best summed up the fight.
Haney-Ramirez sabotaged the “Big Apple’s” energy and vibe, but the headline drama’s early drama brought the mood back.
Garcia was floored by a stinging double left hook by Romero. Before Garcia could get his senses back, he later followed with a clubbing after a flush and hurtful punch.
Romero won the matchup by using the jab more effectively, combined with Garcia’s tentativeness, with both fighters unwilling to overcommit.
Before the championship rounds, Garcia was instructed to “get busy,” according to trainer Derrick James.
Images courtesy of Getty
At a legendary venue, boxing legends and batmobiles are present.
A ring was built in the middle of the city’s iconic landmark in a first for the sport.
In distinctive vehicles, including classic yellow cabs and monster trucks, were fighters sped through New York traffic. Garcia arrived in a Batmobile.
They entered the ring at a leisurely pace for no more than 30 seconds after moving up a short runway.
Outside the venue, viewers could watch the action unfold on screens.
The iconic high-rise buildings, dazzling neon signs, and LED advertising made up the famous backdrop for about 300 invited guests, including boxing legends Mike Tyson and Roberto Duran.
We were astonished to see Labubu toys become Olivia Attwood’s swank summer accessory, and bag charms were the trend we didn’t anticipate.
We may link to affiliate links in this article, but we will make money off of any purchases we make. more information
Liv Attwood showed off her blue Labubu bag charm(Image: Olivia Attwood/Instagram)
Every fashion lover knows that your accessories can make or break your outfit, but it seems like now even our accessories have accessories, as bag charms become the must-have summer trend. However the whimsical trend hasn’t stopped there, as they’ve taken on an even more youthful look thanks to the viral Labubu toys which have been spotted dangingling from designer bags around the world.
Olivia Attwood has become the most recent celebrity to accessorise her handbag with one of the dolls, showing off her powder blue Labubu bag charm on Instagram. Fans were quick to comment on the new accessory, writing: “Labubu mum gone wild” and “All i see now is Labubus”.
This linen co-ord is “a must-have for the heat wave – I’ve worn it everywhere, from the office to the drinks.”
READ MORE: Although we didn’t anticipate Sofia Richie and Amazon Essentials to collaborate, the matching sets are fantastic.
A quick search on Amazon led us to this UNIHYGGE Labubu Plush Keychain, which is available for a very affordable £17.17, even though Liv didn’t disclose where she purchased her charm. There are still copies of the charm Liv was wearing in pale blue, as well as in green, pink, black, and brown colors, all of which are identical.
That means you can copy Liv’s style without breaking the bank, and you can also get one to coordinate the handbag you’re wearing it with, just like Liv did with her pale blue handbag. A snap-open ring at the top of each Labubu Plush keychain enables easy hanging from belt loops, keys, or bag.
Liv hung the Labubu doll from her co-ordinating blue bag(Image: Olivia Attwood/Instagram)
Liv Attwood showed off her blue Labubu bag charm(Image: Olivia Attwood/Instagram)
They have an extra 3 cm of hanging space, which makes for some enjoyable movement, and measure 17 cm from the tip of the ears to the toes. However, everyone from Dua Lipa to Blackpink and White Lotus star Lisa has been seen accessorizing with the Labubu Plush Keychain, including Liv, who isn’t the only one who has done so.
Continue reading the article.
However, other cuddly bag charms are popular, such as the coveted Labubu Plush Keychain. Additionally, Jellycat has created its own version that allows you to purchase a bag charm-sized version of some of its enduring toys. Urban Outfitters, which sells a mini Miffy bag charm for £10, has also jumped on the trend.
We were astonished to see Labubu toys become Olivia Attwood’s swank summer accessory, and bag charms were the trend we didn’t anticipate.
We may link to affiliate links in this article, but we will make money off of any purchases we make. more information
Liv Attwood showed off her blue Labubu bag charm(Image: Olivia Attwood/Instagram)
Every fashion lover knows that your accessories can make or break your outfit, but it seems like now even our accessories have accessories, as bag charms become the must-have summer trend. However the whimsical trend hasn’t stopped there, as they’ve taken on an even more youthful look thanks to the viral Labubu toys which have been spotted dangingling from designer bags around the world.
Olivia Attwood has become the most recent celebrity to accessorise her handbag with one of the dolls, showing off her powder blue Labubu bag charm on Instagram. Fans were quick to comment on the new accessory, writing: “Labubu mum gone wild” and “All i see now is Labubus”.
This linen co-ord is “a must-have for the heat wave – I’ve worn it everywhere, from the office to the drinks.”
READ MORE: Although we didn’t anticipate Sofia Richie and Amazon Essentials to collaborate, the matching sets are fantastic.
A quick search on Amazon led us to this UNIHYGGE Labubu Plush Keychain, which is available for a very affordable £17.17, even though Liv didn’t disclose where she purchased her charm. There are still copies of the charm Liv was wearing in pale blue, as well as in green, pink, black, and brown colors, all of which are identical.
That means you can copy Liv’s style without breaking the bank, and you can also get one to coordinate the handbag you’re wearing it with, just like Liv did with her pale blue handbag. A snap-open ring at the top of each Labubu Plush keychain enables easy hanging from belt loops, keys, or bag.
Liv hung the Labubu doll from her co-ordinating blue bag(Image: Olivia Attwood/Instagram)
Liv Attwood showed off her blue Labubu bag charm(Image: Olivia Attwood/Instagram)
They have an extra 3 cm of hanging space, which makes for some enjoyable movement, and measure 17 cm from the tip of the ears to the toes. However, everyone from Dua Lipa to Blackpink and White Lotus star Lisa has been seen accessorizing with the Labubu Plush Keychain, including Liv, who isn’t the only one who has done so.
Continue reading the article.
However, other cuddly bag charms are popular, such as the coveted Labubu Plush Keychain. Additionally, Jellycat has created its own version that allows you to purchase a bag charm-sized version of some of its enduring toys. Urban Outfitters, which sells a mini Miffy bag charm for £10, has also jumped on the trend.
More than three years on from the deadly on-set shooting of celebrated cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Alec Baldwin’s Rust is now finally available to watch, while the tragedy continues to overshadow the release
Alec Baldwin’s Rust has now finally been released
Alec Baldwin’s long-awaited Western epic Rust is finally being released, three and a half years after tragedy rocked the set.
Set in the 1880s, Rust stars Baldwin as Harland Rust, an outlaw who helps his 13-year-old grandson Lucas (Patrick Scott McDermott) flee to Mexico after he accidentally kills a rancher. Sadly, life imitated art in the most shocking way after Baldwin accidentally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins using a prop gun, causing her death.
Director Joel Souza was also injured during the horror incident, which occurred during a rehearsal at a New Mexico ranch on October 21, 2021, with the bullet becoming lodged in his shoulder.
Ukrainian-born Halyna was just 42 years old when she died, leaving behind her husband, Matthew Hutchins and their young son, Andros Hutchins. Her death sent shockwaves throughout the film community, and production of Rust was shut down in the aftermath, as Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies and New Mexico’s occupational safety agents took over Bonanza Creek Ranch, the original filming location.
READ MORE: Alec Baldwin’s wife’s phone call to agent sparks major career move for family
Halyna Hutchins died following a horror incident with a prop gun(Image: Halyna Hutchins/Instagram)
The investigation continued for more than a year, during which three people faced criminal charges: Baldwin, armourer Hannah Gutierrez, and assistant director David Halls, who had presided over on-set safety.
Article continues below
Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter in 2022, meaning he was accused of causing another person’s death through careless actions. However, these charges were ultimately scrapped three days into Baldwin’s trial in July 2024, after his defence attorneys raised questions over how the evidence had been handled by New Mexico law enforcement officers and prosecutors.
The multi-Oscar nominee also faced a civil lawsuit from Halyna’s family, and in March 2023, he and the film producers agreed to a financial settlement with the family. Baldwin, 67, faced criticism for not checking the prop gun before using it, raising conversations about the importance of safety on film sets. The Golden Globe-winning actor denied any intentional wrongdoing, asserting that he hadn’t pulled the trigger and that the gun had been fired accidentally.
Baldwin’s charge of involuntary manslaughter was ultimately scrapped(Image: Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)
In January of this year, Baldwin filed a malicious prosecution civil lawsuit against New Mexico prosecutors and law enforcement, alleging that defendants had been “blinded by their desire to convict Alec Baldwin for all the wrong reasons, and at any cost”. The lawsuit continues: “Defendants sought at every turn to scapegoat Baldwin for the acts and omissions of others, regardless of the evidence or the law.”
Back in March 2024, Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. As reported by The Los Angeles Times, Gutierrez has served almost 14 months in prison, and it’s expected she will be released later this month. Meanwhile, Halls, who pleaded no contest to a single count of negligent use of a deadly weapon, gave testimony during Gutierrez’s trial, and has since left the film business altogether.
Production resumed in Montana approximately 18 months after Halyna’s death, with filmmakers explaining that they wanted to complete the movie as a tribute to the gifted cinematographer. Discussing this decision with NPR last autumn, director Souza admitted: “It was a really tough decision, and I’ll be very honest — I was a wreck through most of the second go-round.”
Golden Globe-winning actor Baldwin denied any intentional wrongdoing(Image: Getty Images)
He continued: “Obviously, the human cost and the tragedy of it overshadows everything, rightfully so, and is so much more important than any movie. I guess I just wonder if people will sort of see past that and engage with it as a film, or if it will be a thing where people just can’t ever separate the movie from what happened during its filming.”
After the film premiered at the Camerimage Film Festival in Poland back in November, Halyna’s mother, Olga Solovey, issued the following statement: “Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologise to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death.”
Proceeds from the film will go towards the settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Halyna’s widower, Matthew, who became an executive producer of the film, and son Andros, who was just nine years old at the time of his mother’s death.
Cinematographer Bianca Cline took over from Halyna as director of photography, with Souza telling The Guardian that he’d insisted on a woman filling the position. He explained: “The agencies throw male candidates at you, but I know there are a lot of women coming out of the American Film Institute. Then somebody told me, ‘Women can’t shoot westerns.’ And I thought, ‘F*** you. I’m going to stick that up your a** and only look at women’.”
The film was completed as a tribute to Halyna(Image: Halyna Hutchins/Instagram)
There were also a number of significant case changes, with actors Jensen Ackles and Swen Temmel no longer appearing in the finished feature. Rust is now available to stream via Apple, Amazon, and other video-on-demand platforms, and it will also be played at select cinemas across the US. A UK release date has not yet been given.
In their reality series The Baldwins, which premiered back in February, Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria, spoke of the “survivor’s guilt” her husband had been left with in the aftermath of the tragedy. Addressing the cameras, Hilaria told viewers: “I found these text messages the other day, between us, you know, the day after. And you know, he said he wanted to kill himself.” She continued: “He has survivor’s guilt. You’re involved in this thing that nobody could even possibly imagine. And so it goes back to that day. He wishes it were him. He would change places in a second. This has affected his health and his mental health tremendously.
“The past few years, all of a sudden, he started having heart problems. He’s been hospitalised multiple times. He’s fainted… everybody’s just screaming, I’m going, I’m on top, and I’m shaking him. It’s hard sometimes. But hopefully we’re in the hardest, but tail end of it.”
The Baldwins was made as Baldwin prepared for his involuntary manslaughter trial. The second episode followed Alec and Hilaria as they faced his upcoming court date, with Baldwin opening up about how his mental health had declined to the point where he felt unable to
Baldwin shared: “There was a period all this last year where I’d lay in bed and I’d think I don’t want to get out of bed. I’d think to myself, my children are downstairs having breakfast.”
Crediting Hilaria with being his rock throughout this dark period, he added: “The last year was the year in which I think that they noticed I was really, really down. But the person who saved me was my wife because she got up. There were times she didn’t want to either, but she did, that’s the difference.”
Article continues below
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com. Follow Mirror Celebs onTikTok,Snapchat,Instagram,Twitter,Facebook,YouTubeandThreads
READ MORE: Alec Baldwin’s wife offers health update after decision to have ‘procedure’
More than three years on from the deadly on-set shooting of celebrated cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Alec Baldwin’s Rust is now finally available to watch, while the tragedy continues to overshadow the release
Alec Baldwin’s Rust has now finally been released
Alec Baldwin’s long-awaited Western epic Rust is finally being released, three and a half years after tragedy rocked the set.
Set in the 1880s, Rust stars Baldwin as Harland Rust, an outlaw who helps his 13-year-old grandson Lucas (Patrick Scott McDermott) flee to Mexico after he accidentally kills a rancher. Sadly, life imitated art in the most shocking way after Baldwin accidentally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins using a prop gun, causing her death.
Director Joel Souza was also injured during the horror incident, which occurred during a rehearsal at a New Mexico ranch on October 21, 2021, with the bullet becoming lodged in his shoulder.
Ukrainian-born Halyna was just 42 years old when she died, leaving behind her husband, Matthew Hutchins and their young son, Andros Hutchins. Her death sent shockwaves throughout the film community, and production of Rust was shut down in the aftermath, as Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies and New Mexico’s occupational safety agents took over Bonanza Creek Ranch, the original filming location.
READ MORE: Alec Baldwin’s wife’s phone call to agent sparks major career move for family
Halyna Hutchins died following a horror incident with a prop gun(Image: Halyna Hutchins/Instagram)
The investigation continued for more than a year, during which three people faced criminal charges: Baldwin, armourer Hannah Gutierrez, and assistant director David Halls, who had presided over on-set safety.
Article continues below
Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter in 2022, meaning he was accused of causing another person’s death through careless actions. However, these charges were ultimately scrapped three days into Baldwin’s trial in July 2024, after his defence attorneys raised questions over how the evidence had been handled by New Mexico law enforcement officers and prosecutors.
The multi-Oscar nominee also faced a civil lawsuit from Halyna’s family, and in March 2023, he and the film producers agreed to a financial settlement with the family. Baldwin, 67, faced criticism for not checking the prop gun before using it, raising conversations about the importance of safety on film sets. The Golden Globe-winning actor denied any intentional wrongdoing, asserting that he hadn’t pulled the trigger and that the gun had been fired accidentally.
Baldwin’s charge of involuntary manslaughter was ultimately scrapped(Image: Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)
In January of this year, Baldwin filed a malicious prosecution civil lawsuit against New Mexico prosecutors and law enforcement, alleging that defendants had been “blinded by their desire to convict Alec Baldwin for all the wrong reasons, and at any cost”. The lawsuit continues: “Defendants sought at every turn to scapegoat Baldwin for the acts and omissions of others, regardless of the evidence or the law.”
Back in March 2024, Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. As reported by The Los Angeles Times, Gutierrez has served almost 14 months in prison, and it’s expected she will be released later this month. Meanwhile, Halls, who pleaded no contest to a single count of negligent use of a deadly weapon, gave testimony during Gutierrez’s trial, and has since left the film business altogether.
Production resumed in Montana approximately 18 months after Halyna’s death, with filmmakers explaining that they wanted to complete the movie as a tribute to the gifted cinematographer. Discussing this decision with NPR last autumn, director Souza admitted: “It was a really tough decision, and I’ll be very honest — I was a wreck through most of the second go-round.”
Golden Globe-winning actor Baldwin denied any intentional wrongdoing(Image: Getty Images)
He continued: “Obviously, the human cost and the tragedy of it overshadows everything, rightfully so, and is so much more important than any movie. I guess I just wonder if people will sort of see past that and engage with it as a film, or if it will be a thing where people just can’t ever separate the movie from what happened during its filming.”
After the film premiered at the Camerimage Film Festival in Poland back in November, Halyna’s mother, Olga Solovey, issued the following statement: “Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologise to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death.”
Proceeds from the film will go towards the settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Halyna’s widower, Matthew, who became an executive producer of the film, and son Andros, who was just nine years old at the time of his mother’s death.
Cinematographer Bianca Cline took over from Halyna as director of photography, with Souza telling The Guardian that he’d insisted on a woman filling the position. He explained: “The agencies throw male candidates at you, but I know there are a lot of women coming out of the American Film Institute. Then somebody told me, ‘Women can’t shoot westerns.’ And I thought, ‘F*** you. I’m going to stick that up your a** and only look at women’.”
The film was completed as a tribute to Halyna(Image: Halyna Hutchins/Instagram)
There were also a number of significant case changes, with actors Jensen Ackles and Swen Temmel no longer appearing in the finished feature. Rust is now available to stream via Apple, Amazon, and other video-on-demand platforms, and it will also be played at select cinemas across the US. A UK release date has not yet been given.
In their reality series The Baldwins, which premiered back in February, Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria, spoke of the “survivor’s guilt” her husband had been left with in the aftermath of the tragedy. Addressing the cameras, Hilaria told viewers: “I found these text messages the other day, between us, you know, the day after. And you know, he said he wanted to kill himself.” She continued: “He has survivor’s guilt. You’re involved in this thing that nobody could even possibly imagine. And so it goes back to that day. He wishes it were him. He would change places in a second. This has affected his health and his mental health tremendously.
“The past few years, all of a sudden, he started having heart problems. He’s been hospitalised multiple times. He’s fainted… everybody’s just screaming, I’m going, I’m on top, and I’m shaking him. It’s hard sometimes. But hopefully we’re in the hardest, but tail end of it.”
The Baldwins was made as Baldwin prepared for his involuntary manslaughter trial. The second episode followed Alec and Hilaria as they faced his upcoming court date, with Baldwin opening up about how his mental health had declined to the point where he felt unable to
Baldwin shared: “There was a period all this last year where I’d lay in bed and I’d think I don’t want to get out of bed. I’d think to myself, my children are downstairs having breakfast.”
Crediting Hilaria with being his rock throughout this dark period, he added: “The last year was the year in which I think that they noticed I was really, really down. But the person who saved me was my wife because she got up. There were times she didn’t want to either, but she did, that’s the difference.”
Article continues below
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com. Follow Mirror Celebs onTikTok,Snapchat,Instagram,Twitter,Facebook,YouTubeandThreads
READ MORE: Alec Baldwin’s wife offers health update after decision to have ‘procedure’
India and Pakistan are in danger of a military conflict, with Pakistan and Pakistan standing on the verge of a standoff after 11 days when gunmen killed 26 people in the picturesque Baisaran valley in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The nuclear-armed neighbours have each announced a series of tit-for-tat steps against the other since the attack on April 22, which India has implicitly blamed Pakistan for, even as Islamabad has denied any role in the killings.
India has withdrawn from the Indus Waters Treaty, which establishes a water-sharing arrangement for Pakistan. A previous ceasefire line between them in Kashmir, a disputed region that they both claim in its entirety, was recognized as a Line of Control (LoC) by both countries in the 1972 Simla Agreement, which threatened to force Pakistan to withdraw from the agreement. Both nations have also expelled each other’s citizens and scaled back their diplomatic missions.
Despite a ceasefire agreement in place since 2021, the most recent upheaval follows a 40-person fatal attack on Indian soldiers in Pulwama, in Indian-administered Kashmir, that India launched air strikes on Pakistani soil in 2019. They have recently exchanged fire across the LoC.
And the region is now on edge, amid growing expectations that India might launch a military operation against Pakistan this time too.
However, both nations have also spoken with their counterparts diplomatically. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pleaded with S Jaishankar and Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, to find a de-escalation on Wednesday. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh, on Thursday to condemn the attack and offered “strong support” to India.
Sharif met with China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, three of Pakistan’s allies, to ask for their assistance. He also urged the two Gulf countries’ ambassadors to “impress upon India to de-escalate and defuse tensions.”
Moeed Yusuf, a Pakistani national security adviser (NSA) under former prime minister Imran Khan, spoke with Al Jazeera to understand how Pakistani strategists who have worked on ties with India view what might come next.
Prior to his role as NSA, Yusuf also worked as a special adviser to Khan on matters related to national security starting in December 2019, four months after the Indian government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, revoked the special status of Indian-administered Kashmir.
On May 2, 2025, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, left, and the Saudi Arabian ambassador Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliky met in Islamabad.
Yusuf, who is based in Lahore, is currently the vice chancellor of a private university and the author of and editor of several books on regional security and South Asia. His most recent book, Brokering Peace in Nuclear Environments: US Crisis Management in South Asia, was published in 2018.
Al Jazeera: How would you rate the actions taken by both sides so far in the crisis?
Moeed Yusuf: Pakistan and India have long struggled with managing crises. They don’t have a bilateral crisis management mechanism, which is the fundamental concern.
Relying on third parties as the main crisis management tool has been used by both parties, with the intention of preventing both parties from escalating the situation and preventing it from escalation.
The issue that India has encountered this time is that they have followed the old rules, but that the United States’ leader hasn’t campaigned in its place.
It appears that they have so far taken a neutral and a hands-off position, as indicated by President Donald Trump few days ago. Trump claimed to be aware of the leaders of both India and Pakistan and that he believed they could resolve the conflict alone.
Both Pakistan and India have historically been at odds with one another, and that is how it has historically been. This time too, a number of punitive steps have been announced.
Even when things improve, and they may wish to do so, these are simple to set in motion but very difficult to reverse.
Unfortunately, in every situation where they are at odds with one another, the retaliatory measures are getting more and more significant, as India has decided to suspend the Indus Water Treaty, which is against the law because it doesn’t have any provisions in it.
Al Jazeera: Do you believe a strike is imminent and if both sides are indicating preparedness for a showdown?
Yusuf: It’s impossible to say in such a situation. India’s plan of action is still possible and plausible, but the time has come to consider imminent events.
What usually happens in crises is that countries pick up troop or logistics movements, or their allies inform them, or they rely on ground intelligence to determine what might happen. These can occasionally be misinterpreted, leading to misreading them for the offensive side to believe an attack might be coming when it isn’t, or for the defensive side to believe otherwise.
Pakistan must show unwavering commitment to take any chance. You don’t know what will come next, so you have to be ready.
Despite that, I don’t believe we will have a major war, but one misinterpretation or miscalculation can result in significant things.
Al Jazeera: How do you feel about the US, China, and the Gulf States’ involvement in this crisis, and how would you compare it to earlier ones?
Yusuf: My last book, Brokering Peace (2018) was on the third-party management in Pakistan-India context, and this is such a vital element for both as they have internalised and built it into their calculus that a third-party country will inevitably come in.
Instead of escalating further, the idea is that a third-party mediator will intervene and the two countries will agree to stop because that is what they really want.
Since the 1999 Kargil War, the United States has dominated the group of third-party nations. (Pakistani forces crossed the LoC to try to take control of strategic heights in Ladakh’s Kargil, but India eventually managed to take back the territory. Bill Clinton, then-US president, is credited with putting an end to that conflict.
Everyone else supports the US position, which places the need for immediate de-escalation above all else during the crisis, including China.
This changed somewhat in the 2016 surgical strikes and 2019 Pulwama crisis when the US leaned heavily on India’s side, perhaps unwittingly even emboldening them to act in 2019.
After 19 Indian soldiers were killed in an attack on an army base in Uri, Indian-administered Kashmir, Indian troops launched a cross-border “surgical strike” that New Delhi claimed targeted armed fighters planning to attack India. After the attack on the Indian military convoy that left 40 soldiers dead, Indian fighter jets bombed what New Delhi claimed were “terrorists”‘ bases in Balakot, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. India and Pakistan then engaged in an aerial dogfight, and an Indian pilot was captured and subsequently returned.)
However, this time, the White House has a president who turned around and instructed both Pakistan and India to figure it out for themselves.
Because of Pakistan, they had previously discounted the possibility of significant US support, believing they had become too close to India as a result of their strategic relationship, which I believe has hurt them more than Pakistan.
But India would have been hoping for the Americans to put their foot down and pressure Pakistan, which did not exactly materialise. The secretary of state Marco Rubio is being called once more to urge both countries to end their war.
What they have done has, oddly enough, still contributed to India’s situation so far, given that, until now, they didn’t feel as pressured to act as they might have during Pulwama in 2019.
Gulf countries have played a more active role than before. China has also made a restraint statement.
Since 2014, when India’s relations with Pakistan have remained strained, has Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi been in power?Abdul Saboor/AP Photo
Al Jazeera: How has Pakistan’s relationship with India evolved in recent years?
Yusuf: The relationship between the two nations has undergone a radical change. Despite serious issues and India’s unilateral actions in Kashmir in 2019, we witnessed both back-channel negotiations and a ceasefire agreement.
We have tried to move ahead and reduce India’s incentive to destabilise Pakistan, but I think India has lost that opportunity due to its own intransigence, hubris and an ideological bent that continues to force them to demean and threaten Pakistan.
The leadership there is now convinced that the restraint policy was unsuccessful, and India has mishandled and abused Pakistan’s offers for dialogue.
Pakistan shouldn’t be pleading either if India doesn’t want to talk. If India does reach out, we will likely respond, but there isn’t any desperation in Pakistan at all.
For either nation, this is not a pleasant place to live. I’ve long held the conviction that improving their relationship will ultimately help Pakistan get where we want to go economically and India get where it says it wants to go regionally. For now, though, with the current Indian attitude, unfortunately, I see little hope.
Al Jazeera: Do you anticipate any direct India-Pakistan discussions occurring during or after this crisis?
Yes, I’m not sure when or with whom it will be, but I believe one of the most important lessons that Indians could learn is that trying to isolate Pakistan is ineffective.
Indus Water Treaty in abeyance? Potential suspension of the SIMLA Agreement The two nations will need to talk through these important decisions, and I believe they will do so at some point in the future.
But I also don’t think that Pakistan will make a move towards rapprochement, as we have offered opportunities for dialogues so many times recently to no avail. As I mentioned, Pakistan’s attitude toward this issue has also gotten worse.
In the end, Indians must ultimately choose whether or not to talk. If they come forth, I think Pakistan will still respond positively to it.
