"Trump Wasn't Directly Involved": Shashi Tharoor To NDTV On Ceasefire Claims

Donald Trump was not involved in ceasefire talks with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told NDTV Thursday.

"This is Trump expressing his understanding of something but, as far as we're concerned, he was not directly involved. There wasn't any call from Trump during Op Sindoor..."

Mr Tharoor's statement is the latest by an Indian lawmaker countering the American President's repeated credit grab. Mr Trump has claimed he threatened to withhold trade with India and Pak, and also offered lower import tariffs for India, if the two countries agreed to cease hostilities.

India has firmly rebuffed every claim, explaining in detail that Pakistan had reached out to ask for the ceasefire and that the terms were settled directly between the two militaries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined that message in a phone call with Donald Trump Tuesday.

READ | India Doesn't Want Mediation, Agreed To Pak's Ceasefire Plea: Trump Told

Mr Modi's phone call, however, seemed to have no impact; hours later Mr Trump again claimed credit for the ceasefire, and this time lamented the lack of press coverage highlighting his role.

The US President was also told India had no interest, now or in the future, in third-party mediation to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir border issue. Mr Trump, while claiming credit for the ceasefire, had also offered himself as a mediator, a role he spoke about in his first term too.

On Mr Trump continuing to make his ceasefire claim, Mr Tharoor said the Indian government had always been clear about Op Sindoor's targets and was always in control of the situation.

"There was no question of us needing persuasion (from the US) to be stopped," he said.

"We were only reacting to terrorism. We said, 'if Pakistan decides to hit us... we will hit them back. If they stop... we will stop'. And the moment they stopped, we stopped."

The Congress leader had led a cross-party delegation to the United States after Op Sindoor - to share details of the Indian government's precision military strikes on terror targets in Pak and Pak-occupied Kashmir, and to convey the country's new doctrine on combatting terror.

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