Pakistan’s deputy PM and foreign minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has revealed that India categorically refused any third-party mediation in resolving bilateral issues with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, contrary to claims made by US President Donald Trump.During an interview with Al Jazeera, Dar stated that Islamabad had raised the issue of third-party mediation with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, to which the US official responded that India did not support any outside involvement.Dar recounted a specific interaction with Rubio regarding Trump’s claims of mediating the May 10 ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed nations. “Incidentally, when the ceasefire offer came through Rubio to me on May 10… I was told that there would be a dialogue between Pakistan and India at an independent place… When we met on July 25 during a bilateral meeting with Rubio in Washington, I asked him ‘What happened to those dialogues?’ He said, ‘India says that it is a bilateral issue,'” Dar said.Dar’s remarks contradict Trump’s repeated assertions that the US brokered the ceasefire between the two neighbours amid heightened tensions during Operation Sindoor – India’s precision military strikes on nine terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and PoK – which came in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 people. Since May, Trump has been claiming that his administration’s mediation averted a potential “nuclear war”. India has categorically denied that there was any third-party intervention, stating that the ceasefire was achieved through direct talks between Directors General of Military Operations of the two nations.The Pakistani foreign minister also stressed Islamabad’s willingness to engage in talks, but added that Pakistan refused to “beg” for an engagement with India. “It takes two to tango,” he said.”We don’t mind, but India has categorically been stating it’s bilateral. We don’t mind bilateral. However, the dialogue must be comprehensive, encompassing terrorism, trade, economy, and Jammu & Kashmir,” he said.”So, unless India wishes to have dialogue, we can’t force dialogue. We don’t wish to force dialogue,” Dar added.He stressed that Pakistan remained committed to eliminating terrorism from its soil and had made the highest sacrifices in this fight. On water issues, Dar cautioned that future wars would be fought over water and reminded that under Indus Waters Treaty, India could not unilaterally suspend or revoke water distribution. “Pakistan has made it clear that any attempt to stop water will be considered a declaration of war.” When asked about Pakistan’s nuclear capability, Dar said its nuclear force is purely defensive, has never been used, and there is no intent to use it; but if Pakistan’s sovereignty is attacked, it will defend itself at all costs.The Express Tribune reported Dar also described the recent Israeli strike on Qatar as a grave action against international law, the UN Charter, and sovereignty of Muslim countries. “You have seen Lebanon, Syria, Iran and now Qatar attacked. This approach is unacceptable,” he said, adding that the attack was intended to sabotage that process. AGENCIES
