New Delhi: Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar has now called out US president Donald Trump’s on the issue of mediation during Operation Sindoor.
For the last four months, Trump has been claiming that it was he who brokered peace between India and Pakistan in May, causing some discomfort for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who got repeatedly accused by the Opposition for bowing down to US pressure while agreeing to a cessation of firing on May 10.
Dar has now said that though Pakistan was in favour of mediation by the US, India never agreed to it. This is not only for Operation Sindoor, but all issues between the two countries, including Kashmir.
rare public admission, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that India never agreed to any third-party mediation on issues between the two countries, effectively undercutting former US President Donald Trump’s claim that he had been asked to mediate on Kashmir.
Dar said that when Islamabad raised the issue of Trump’s mediation with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, the latter made it clear that New Delhi had always maintained that all issues with Pakistan are “strictly bilateral.”
“We don’t mind third-party involvement, but India has categorically been stating it’s a bilateral matter. We don’t mind bilateral, but the dialogues have to be comprehensive – on terrorism, trade, economy, Jammu and Kashmir, all subjects that we have discussed earlier,” Dar said.
He added that Washington had earlier conveyed a ceasefire offer in May, saying talks between India and Pakistan would be held at a neutral venue. But during a follow-up meeting with Rubio in Washington on July 25, Dar was told that India had not agreed to the proposal.
“India says it is a bilateral issue. We are not begging for anything. We are a peace-loving country, and we believe dialogue is the way forward; but it takes two to tango,” Dar said, adding that Pakistan is still willing to engage if India responds.