‘Engagement needs to be bilateral’: India once more dismisses Trump’s declare of brokering ceasefire with Pakistan

Responding to US President Donald Trump’s declare of enjoying a task in halting hostilities between India and Pakistan, India on Wednesday reiterated that any engagement between the 2 international locations have to be strictly bilateral.

Addressing a press briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal mentioned, “In my final briefing, I had addressed this concern. I’ve nothing additional so as to add. You might be nicely conscious of our place that any India-Pakistan engagement needs to be bilateral.”

#WATCH | Delhi: On President Donald Trump claiming credit score for the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, “In my final briefing, I had addressed this concern. I’ve nothing additional so as to add. You might be nicely conscious of our place that… pic.twitter.com/37W690IFaK

— ANI (@ANI) Could 22, 2025

Underscoring India’s longstanding place, Jaiswal mentioned “talks and terror don’t go collectively.”

“On terrorism itself, we’re open to discussing the handing over to India of famous terrorists whose listing was supplied to Pakistan some years in the past,” he added.

On the matter of Jammu and Kashmir, Jaiswal categorically mentioned that “any bilateral dialogue will solely be on the holiday of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan.”

On the Indus Waters Treaty, Jaiswal mentioned it is going to stay in abeyance till Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its assist for cross-border terrorism.

Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he mentioned, “Water and blood can’t movement collectively.”

On Could 7, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, a collection of precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), in retaliation for a Pakistan-backed terror assault in Pahalgam that claimed 26 civilian lives.

India focused and destroyed 9 terror launch pads, together with recognized terror hubs in Bahawalpur and Muridke. This was adopted by a navy escalation, with intense artillery exchanges going down on Could 8 and 9.

India inflicted vital injury on 11 Pakistani airbases and different strategic navy installations.

Following this, President Trump was fast to take credit score for ‘brokering’ peace between India-Pakistan and in addition claimed that he prevented a ’nuclear struggle’.

On Fact Social, Trump posted, “After a protracted night time of talks mediated by america, I’m happy to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and instant ceasefire. Congratulations to each international locations on utilizing frequent sense and nice intelligence. Thanks to your consideration to this matter!”

Nonetheless, these claims had been refuted by India and as just lately as Wednesday by Exterior Affairs Minister  S Jaishankar who mentioned that the current cessation of hostilities was achieved by direct communication between the 2 nations.

In an interview with Netherlands-based NOS, Jaishankar detailed how the de-escalation truly happened.

“Sure, we’ve a mechanism to speak to one another as a hotline. So, on the tenth of Could, it was the Pakistani military which despatched a message that they had been able to cease firing, and we responded accordingly,” mentioned the minister.

Whereas acknowledging that varied international locations, together with the US, reached out through the disaster, Jaishankar affirmed that the precise decision was bilateral.

“Properly, the US was in america. Clearly, US Secretary of State Rubio and Vice President Vance had known as up, Rubio had spoken to me, Vance had spoken to our Prime Minister, that they had their view and so they had been speaking to us and so they had been speaking to Pakistani aspect as certainly had been another international locations. There have been some international locations within the Gulf, there have been some others as nicely,” Jaishankar mentioned.

“That occurs naturally, once we know when two international locations are engaged in a battle, it’s pure that the international locations on this planet name up, form of point out their concern and what they will do in such a state of affairs however the cessation of firing and navy motion was one thing which was negotiated immediately between India and Pakistan.We made one factor very clear to everyone who spoke to us, not simply america, however to everybody, saying look if the Pakistani wish to cease the firing, they should inform us, we have to hear it from them, their normal has to name our normal and say this and that’s what occurred,” he added.

With inputs from businesses