Jaishankar was addressing questions on Operation Sindoor, one of which has been on Trump’s claim of intervening and using trade offers for India-Pak ceasefire. There was no call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump between April 22 and June 17, said external affairs minister S Jaishankar in the Lok Sabha on Monday, during the debate on Operation Sindoor.
Jaishankar was addressing questions on the Indian military operation, one of which has been on Trump’s claim of intervening and using trade offers for making India and Pakistan reach a ceasefire understanding. “I want to make two things very clear. One, at no stage in any conversation with the United States was there any linkage with trade and what was going on,” Jaishankar said in Lok Sabha on Monday.
“Secondly, there was no call between the Prime Minister [Modi] and President Trump from the 22nd of April when President Trump called up to convey his sympathy and the 17th of June, when he called up Prime Minister [Modi] in Canada to explain why he could not meet,” Jaishankar added. India launched military strikes under Operation Sindoor on May 7, in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which terrorists killed 26 people, mostly civilians.
Operation Sindoor triggered a massive military conflict between India and Pakistan, as the latter unsuccessfully launched drones and missiles towards Indian territory. The four-day military conflict halted after DGMO of Pakistan reached out to the Indian counterpart for a ceasefire understanding.
While Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for the ceasefire understanding between India and Pakistan, citing trade offers, India has maintained that the halt in military action on May 10 was a result of direct contact between the DGMOs of both nations. “This contact was initiated by the Pakistani side,” India has said.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday opened the debate over Operation Sindoor in Parliament, saying India completed the strikes on May 7 within 22 minutes and adding that the operation has only been paused and not ended.
Rajnath Singh said in the Lok Sabha that Operation Sindoor was “paused” as the armed forces had achieved the desired politico-military objectives and asserted that there was “no pressure” to end it.
If Pakistan indulges in fresh misadventure, it will resume again, Rajnath Singh said in his opening remarks on the special debate on Pahalgam terror strikes and Operation Sindoor in the lower house.
He said the armed forces are ever vigilant to defend India’s borders and the military operation was an effective and well-coordinated strike against nine terror sites. Seven terror camps were fully destroyed and India has proof of the damage incurred inside PoK and Pakistan, Singh told the House.
