Responding to US President Donald Trump’s claim of playing a role in halting hostilities between India and Pakistan, India on Wednesday reiterated that any engagement between the two countries must be strictly bilateral.Addressing a press briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “In my last briefing, I had addressed this issue. I have nothing further to add. You are well aware of our position that any India-Pakistan engagement has to be bilateral.”STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADUnderscoring India’s longstanding position, Jaiswal said “talks and terror don’t go together.”“On terrorism itself, we are open to discussing the handing over to India of noted terrorists whose list was provided to Pakistan some years ago,” he added.On the matter of Jammu and Kashmir, Jaiswal categorically said that “any bilateral discussion will only be on the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan.”On the Indus Waters Treaty, Jaiswal said it will remain in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “Water and blood cannot flow together.”On May 7, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, a series of precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), in retaliation for a Pakistan-backed terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 civilian lives.India targeted and destroyed nine terror launch pads, including known terror hubs in Bahawalpur and Muridke. This was followed by a military escalation, with intense artillery exchanges taking place on May 8 and 9.India inflicted significant damage on 11 Pakistani airbases and other strategic military installations.Following this, President Trump was quick to take credit for ‘brokering’ peace between India-Pakistan and also claimed that he prevented a ’nuclear war’.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADOn Truth Social, Trump posted, “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Congratulations to both countries on using common sense and great intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”However, these claims were refuted by India and as recently as Wednesday by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who said that the recent cessation of hostilities was achieved through direct communication between the two nations.In an interview with Netherlands-based NOS, Jaishankar detailed how the de-escalation actually took place.“Yes, we have a mechanism to talk to each other as a hotline. So, on the 10th of May, it was the Pakistani army which sent a message that they were ready to stop firing, and we responded accordingly,” said the minister.While acknowledging that various countries, including the US, reached out during the crisis, Jaishankar affirmed that the actual resolution was bilateral.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD“Well, the US was in the United States. Obviously, US Secretary of State Rubio and Vice President Vance had called up, Rubio had spoken to me, Vance had spoken to our Prime Minister, they had their view and they were talking to us and they were talking to Pakistani side as indeed were some other countries. There were some countries in the Gulf, there were some others as well,” Jaishankar said.“That happens naturally, when we know when two countries are engaged in a conflict, it is natural that the countries in the world call up, sort of indicate their concern and what they can do in such a situation but the cessation of firing and military action was something which was negotiated directly between India and Pakistan.We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the United States, but to everyone, saying look if the Pakistani want to stop the firing, they need to tell us, we need to hear it from them, their general has to call our general and say this and that is what happened,” he added.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADWith inputs from agenciesTagsIndiaPakistanUnited States of AmericaEnd of Article
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