After PM Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday once again clarified that the ceasefire between India and Pakistan was a bilateral arrangement, without foreign mediation.
The former diplomat criticised the selective global response to terrorism following the deadly Pahalgam attack on April 22.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington DC during his ongoing three-day visit, Jaishankar reiterated that the 2021 ceasefire was negotiated directly by military officials of the two countries. The clarification comes in response to past remarks by US President Donald Trump, who had claimed credit for brokering peace between the two South Asian neighbours.
“It is a fact that often countries do not take a position when some other countries are victims of terrorism, which they would do when they themselves are. In that respect honestly, we have been much more consistent and principled. When terror attacks happen elsewhere outside India, we have largely followed the same position that we have taken when they have happened in India,” the minister said.
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He emphasised that diplomacy involves encouraging nations to support each other in such situations. “Countries are not backing each other sufficiently enough and part of diplomacy is to exhort them, encourage them, persuade them, motivate them to do that, and which is why it's important to speak up, and which is why it's important to carry them with us to the best possibility,” he added.
When asked about the US’s role in mediating the India-Pakistan ceasefire following Operation Sindoor, Jaishankar refuted any third-party involvement. “The record of what happened at that time was very clear and the ceasefire was something which was negotiated between the DGMOs of the two countries,” he said.
Jaishankar, in Washington for the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting, also met Indian-origin US officials including FBI Director Kash Patel and US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Discussions spanned bilateral cooperation on counterterrorism, drug trafficking, organised crime, and the broader global security landscape.
The former diplomat criticised the selective global response to terrorism following the deadly Pahalgam attack on April 22.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington DC during his ongoing three-day visit, Jaishankar reiterated that the 2021 ceasefire was negotiated directly by military officials of the two countries. The clarification comes in response to past remarks by US President Donald Trump, who had claimed credit for brokering peace between the two South Asian neighbours.
“It is a fact that often countries do not take a position when some other countries are victims of terrorism, which they would do when they themselves are. In that respect honestly, we have been much more consistent and principled. When terror attacks happen elsewhere outside India, we have largely followed the same position that we have taken when they have happened in India,” the minister said.
Also Read: Jaishankar reacts to 500% US tariff bill over Russian oil; Says 'will have to cross that bridge when we come to it'
He emphasised that diplomacy involves encouraging nations to support each other in such situations. “Countries are not backing each other sufficiently enough and part of diplomacy is to exhort them, encourage them, persuade them, motivate them to do that, and which is why it's important to speak up, and which is why it's important to carry them with us to the best possibility,” he added.
When asked about the US’s role in mediating the India-Pakistan ceasefire following Operation Sindoor, Jaishankar refuted any third-party involvement. “The record of what happened at that time was very clear and the ceasefire was something which was negotiated between the DGMOs of the two countries,” he said.
Jaishankar, in Washington for the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting, also met Indian-origin US officials including FBI Director Kash Patel and US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Discussions spanned bilateral cooperation on counterterrorism, drug trafficking, organised crime, and the broader global security landscape.
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