India Rejects Trump's Claims of Mediation

New Delhi: India on Tuesday dismissed any prospect of American mediation on Kashmir as indicated by US President Donald Trump, stating that India had always stood for bilateral engagement on the issue with Pakistan and that the only issue pertaining to Kashmir was the vacation of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

At his weekly briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also contradicted Trump’s assertion that the US had threatened to snap trade ties with both India and Pakistan if they did not stop hostilities. He said: “The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions” between the United States and India after Operation Sindoor began on May 7.

The MEA spokesperson also made it clear that India would continue to keep the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) “in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism”. “There is now a new normal (and) the sooner Pakistan gets used to it, the better,” he said.

Jaiswal said India would approach the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the United Nations for sanctions on (Pakistan-backed terror group) The Resistance Front, a front of terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) that had claimed responsibility twice for the Pahalgam massacre. A query about the Indian civilian casualties during Operation Sindoor did not elicit any response but government authorities had earlier indicated that 16 Indian civilians had died in shelling by Pakistan.

The MEA spokesperson said: “It was of force of Indian arms that compelled Pakistan to stop its firing” and pointed to the “extremely effective attack on key Pakistani Air Force bases”. Following this, the Pakistani High Commission made the call to the MEA at 12.37 pm on May 10 after the “Pakistani side had initial difficulties connecting the hotline to the Indian side for technical reasons”.

“The specific date, time and wording of the understanding was worked out between the DGMOs of the two countries,” Jaiswal said, thereby making it clear that the understanding was reached directly between the two neighbours. He said a “nation (Pakistan) which has nurtured terrorism on an industrial scale should think that it can escape the consequences is fooling itself”.

He also pointed to the satellite pictures available that show the damage done to terror hideouts and Pakistani air bases. He described Pakistan claiming victory as a “old habit” after being defeated amd said the military action by India was entirely in the conventional domain.

“From the time Op Sindoor commenced on 07 May till the understanding on cessation of firing and military action on 10 May, there were conversations between Indian and US leaders on the evolving military situation. The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions,” Jaiswal said.

“We have a longstanding national position that any issues pertaining to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have to be addressed by India and Pakistan bilaterally. That stated policy has not changed. As you are aware, the outstanding matter is the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan.”

The MEA spokesperson said, “The specific date, time and wording of the understanding was worked out between the DGMOs of the two countries at their phone call on 10 May 2025 commencing 1535 hrs (3.35 pm). The request for this call was received by the MEA from the Pakistani High Commission at 1237 hrs (12.37 pm). The Pakistani side had initial difficulties connecting the hotline to the Indian side for technical reasons. The timing was then decided based on the availability of the Indian DGMO at 1535 hrs. You will of course appreciate that early on 10th morning, we had mounted an extremely effective attack on key Pakistani Air Force bases. That was the reason they were now willing to stop firing and military action. Let me be clear. It was of force of Indian arms that compelled Pakistan to stop its firing. … Their (Pakistan’s) tune changed after the devastating counter-response by India. … All you have to do is to see who called who.”

He added, “As regards conversations with other nations, the message from India was clear and consistent. And exactly the same message that we were conveying from public platforms was the one conveyed in private conversations. It was that India was responding to the 22 April terrorist attack by targeting the terrorist infrastructure. However, if the Pakistani armed forces fire, Indian armed forces will fire back; if Pakistan stops, India will also stop. This was also the message that was conveyed to the Pakistani side at the time of the commencement of Op Sindoor, which was not heeded by the Pakistani side at that time. It is natural that many foreign leaders who heard this from us would have shared it with their Pakistani interlocutors.”

On the Indus Treaty, Jaiswal said, “The IWT was concluded in the spirit of goodwill and friendship as specified in the preamble of the treaty. However, Pakistan has held these principles in abeyance by its promotion of cross-border terrorism for decades. Now as per CCS decision of 23 April, India will keep the Treaty in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. Please also note that climate change, demographic shifts and technological changes have created new realities on the ground.”