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Tharoor said Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to his Indian counterpart only after India’s strong defensive response
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. (PTI file photo)
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday directly rejected US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of brokering a peace between India and Pakistan in May, saying that the truce was triggered by India’s decisive military action.
“It was India’s successful strikes, and not Mr Trump, that led to the ceasefire,” Tharoor declared while speaking at the launch of the book Whither India-Pakistan Relations Today? Can They Ever Be Good Neighbours?
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Tharoor said that the turning point was Operation Sindoor, launched by Indian forces in early May, which targeted terror infrastructure across the border.
Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), he explained, reached out to his Indian counterpart only after the operation and India’s strong defensive response the following morning.
“The successful strikes on the night of 9–10 May and the ability of India to intercept the attempted Pakistani response, when they sent missiles to Delhi on the morning of 10th May, is what contributed undoubtedly, and not Mr Trump, to the call by the Pakistani DGMO to his Indian counterpart asking for peace,” Tharoor said.
The May 10 ceasefire was declared shortly after Operation Sindoor, which itself was carried out in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead.
Tharoor underlined that India’s military posture has been consistent: “With Balakot in 2019 and Operation Sindoor now, India has sent a very clear message that we will not sit quietly if terror is unleashed on us.”
As part of diplomatic outreach following Operation Sindoor, Tharoor also led a cross-party parliamentary delegation to five countries, including the United States, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, and Colombia, to explain India’s position.
Trump’s Claim, Congress’ Question
However, Trump has repeatedly claimed that he prevented a “nuclear war” between India and Pakistan, casting himself as the architect of the truce.
New Delhi, however, has consistently dismissed those assertions, describing the ceasefire as a bilateral decision.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has seized on Trump’s statements to question the ruling NDA government.
The Leader of the Opposition also demanded clarity from the Prime Minister in Parliament, urging him to respond directly to Trump’s remarks.
Tharoor, meanwhile, revealed that he had publicly argued for a robust military response soon after the Pahalgam attack.
“Couple of days after Pahalgam, I wrote an op-ed advocating precisely this. You can imagine my satisfaction and semi-disbelief… I didn’t realise anyone in Delhi would be reading my op-ed. Which is why I was such an enthusiastic supporter of it. It followed exactly the course of action I had advised,” he said.
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