Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has acknowledged that New Delhi rejected any form of third-party intervention during Operation Sindoor. His remarks directly challenge US President Donald Trump’s assertions that Washington brokered peace between India and Pakistan.
Speaking to Al Jazeera regarding the possibility of negotiations with India involving a third party, Dar said, “Well we don’t mind but India has categorically been stating it is bilateral so we do not mind bilateral but the dialogue have to be comprehensive. It will have dialogue on terrorism, dialogue on trade on economy on Jammu and Kashmir and all the subjects which we both have been discussing with. So incidentally, when the ceasefire offer came through Sec Rubio to me on May 10 May around 8:17 or past 8 in the morning, I was told that there would be very soon dialogue between you and India at an independent place.”
He further recalled his meeting in Washington: “When we met on July 25 bilateral meeting myself with Secretary Rubio in Washington, I asked him what happened to dialogue (Rubio) says India says that it is a bilateral issue. We are not begging for anything…Unless India wishes a dialogue, we can’t force a dialogue.”
Modi’s Firm Rebuttal on Mediation
Dar’s admission runs contrary to Trump’s repeated claims of American involvement in ending the clashes. The US President has also offered to negotiate the Kashmir matter between the two countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had conveyed in no uncertain terms to Trump that India will never allow any mediation in its dealings with Pakistan.
Quoting the conversation between the two leaders in June, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had said, “PM Modi emphasised that India has never accepted mediation, does not accept it, and will never accept it.”
Operation Sindoor And Ceasefire
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that claimed 26 lives. The operation sparked four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
The hostilities ended on May 10, after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations sought a ceasefire. Trump, however, took to social media the same day claiming that Washington had mediated “a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks”. He repeated the claim on several occasions afterwards.
India’s Consistent Position
In Parliament, Prime Minister Modi had underlined that no foreign leader had asked India to halt its operations. He criticised the Congress and its allies for not backing the armed forces despite global support for India’s stance.
New Delhi has consistently maintained that the ceasefire understanding was achieved through direct communication between the DGMOs of the two militaries, not through any external intervention. Modi reiterated this position during his phone call with Trump last month, stressing that India does not and will “never accept” outside mediation.
