Foreign minister S Jaishankar, speaking of Operation Sindoor and cessation of hostilities with Pakistan, said today that it was clear that who had called for a ceasefire. His comments came amid a huge controversy over US President Donald Trump’s claims that US had brokered peace between the two countries. He also said the Indus water treaty has been “kept in abeyance and will continue to be kept in abeyance until cross-border terrorism by Pakistan is credibly and irrevocably stopped”.
Pakistan, vast swathes of which are dependent on the waters of Indus both for agriculture and drinking, has written to the Jal Shakti ministry asking that India reconsider the matter.
India had cut off the water supply after the horrific attack on tourists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. Invoking its national security prerogative, India said the treaty would be on freeze until Islamabad ends its support for terrorism.
Mr Jaishankar said the precision strikes on terror bases on May 7 – a retaliation for the Pahalgam attack – was directed only at terrorists and not the Pakistan military. “We were not striking at the Pakistani military so the military had an option of standing out and not interfering. But they chose not to take good advice,” Mr Jaishankar said.
“Satellite pictures brought out graphically how much damage we did… and how little damage they did. The same people who were not willing to stand down on May 7, were willing to stand down and talk on May 10. So it was clear who wanted the cessation of firing,” he said.
Then, without mentioning President Trump’s claim that ceasefire between India and Pakistan was achieved with the promise of trade, Mr Jaishankar said, “Between India and the US, trade talks have been going on”.
“These are complicated negotiations. Nothing is decided till everything is. Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial. It has to work for both countries. That would be our expectation from the trade deal.
Until that is done, any judgment on it would be premature,” he added.
President Trump had made the announcement regarding ceasefire minutes before the foreign ministry announced it on May 10.
Three days later, minutes before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on Operation Sindoor, President Trump claimed he told India and Pakistan that his administration would engage in trade with them only if they ended the conflict.
New Delhi’s stance has always been to refuse third party mediation when it comes to contentious issues with Pakistan, especially Kashmir. President Trump’s announcement sparked a huge controversy, with the Congress questioning if the US claims were correct. The party had also sought a special session of parliament to discuss this and other issues related to Operation Sindoor.
The government, without mentioning President Trump, has maintained that the ceasefire proposals had come from Islamabad.
