No N-factor, truce bilateral: Misri briefs Parl committee

The government on Monday said the recent pause on the hostilities between India and Pakistan was reached bilaterally and the nuclear factor was never at play even as it disputed US President Donald Trump’s claims of mediation between the two countries for a ceasefire and his remarks that America stopped a likely nuclear war.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, during his presentation to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs today, said the conflict between India and Pakistan after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack was always conventional and the neighbour never made any “nuclear signalling”.

This was Misri’s first briefing to the committee chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who later said the entire panel commended Misri for his articulation in presenting the Indian position in the midst of Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the Pahalgam attack.

The committee in its entirety supported Misri, who faced social media trolling after he announced the pause on the hostilities between the two countries.

On the decision to pause the hostilities, Misri said it was finalised between the two countries and no third party had any locus standi in the matter.

Asked by opposition MPs about Trump claiming credit for the ceasefire, Misri, in a lighter vein, is learnt to have said the US President did not seek his consent before saying what he said.

The Foreign Secretary said there was no indication from Pakistan of any nuclear offensive. These comments were significant after Trump’s claims that he averted a possible nuclear war that could have killed millions.

Sources said Misri gave a detailed briefing on the success of Operation Sindoor on May 7 as India hit nine terror hubs in Pakistan and the PoK.

He is learnt to have elaborated how on May 10, India struck several airbases in Pakistan. The pause on the hostilities was announced in the evening that day.

On queries by opposition MPs about whether any aircraft was downed, Misri said the Ministry of Defence was better equipped to respond to this. Misri added that Indian aircraft hit their targets.

To a barrage of questions by some lawmakers on Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s comments that India had informed Pakistan in advance about Operation Sindoor, Misri clarified that the DGMO had informed his Pakistani counterpart after the initial attack.

Jaishankar’s comments continue to fuel a Congress offensive on the issue with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi leading the attack.

The Ministry of External Affairs on May 17 rejected Rahul’s accusations against Jaishankar claiming that he had informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor, calling it a “misrepresentation of facts”.

Some MPs also asked about the IMF loan to Pakistan and major countries voting in favour while India abstained.

Misri is said to have told the parliamentary panel that other nations “pursue their own interests”.

The Foreign Secretary parried a question on the intelligence failure which led to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 and the whereabouts of the terrorists involved.

He said the MHA was looking into those aspects and he could not comment on the matter. Sources quoted him as saying that a preliminary inquiry into the Pahalgam terror attack had revealed communication nodes of terrorists with handlers in Pakistan.

Misri added that no other country had any locus standi to comment on issues about Jammu and Kashmir. This was in response to MPs’ questions about Trump and some of his top officials saying that India and Pakistan had agreed to discuss other issues at a neutral place.

The MPs also sought Misri’s views on India’s diplomatic relations with Turkiye to which he said Turkiye had traditionally not been an India supporter.

On ties with Pakistan, Misri said he did not foresee chances of improvement in the relations due to the neighbouring country’s continuous display of hostility.

Misri is also said to have clarified that there was no crosstalk about trade being a bait to stop the conflict with Pakistan, and that the talks of trade and tariff with the US were separate from the talks on the conflict with Pakistan.

Trump earlier suggested that an offer of trade aided the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

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