No nuclear signalling by Pakistan during ‘Operation Sindoor’
NEW DELHI, May 19: The Centre on Monday firmly denied US President Donald Trump’s claims that his intervention helped broker a ceasefire between India and Pakistan on May 10, stating that the ceasefire was a bilateral decision between New Delhi and Islamabad.
According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Trump did not coordinate with India or seek permission to make public statements, sources said. “He simply wanted to step into the spotlight,” Misri said in a closed-door briefing to the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on External Affairs.
The PSC members had sought clarification on a post by US President Donald Trump post on X on May 10 in which he implied that his intervention helped broker a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Misri clarified that India did not carry out any strikes on Pakistan’s nuclear infrastructure during Operation Sindoor.
He also told the committee that there was no nuclear signalling from Pakistan during the recent military standoff following Operation Sindoor.
According to sources present at the meeting, the government made it clear that the operation remained entirely conventional in nature, and there was no nuclear signalling or threats from the Pakistani side during the recent military confrontation.
The briefing was held against the backdrop of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, following the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor, which targeted terror infrastructure across the Line of Control. The committee, chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, questioned the Foreign Secretary on several key aspects of the operation and its strategic implications.
In response to inquiries about whether India suffered any aircraft losses during the operation, the government stated that such details fall under operational secrecy and cannot be disclosed publicly.
There were also questions raised regarding External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s earlier statement, which some interpreted as contradictory to the government’s military position.
The Foreign Secretary clarified that the minister’s comment referred specifically to the first phase of Operation Sindoor, when India conducted strikes on nine terror camps on the night of May 6-7.
Misri, according to sources, said that Pakistan had been informed about those strikes after they occurred, and that Jaishankar’s statement was being misrepresented.
Sources further revealed that the committee unanimously passed a resolution condemning the remarks targeting Foreign Secretary Misri and his family. Members expressed full support for Misri and praised his handling of the situation during a sensitive time.
The committee was told that communication channels between India and Pakistan’s military leadership, particularly at the DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) level, remained open and active during the crisis. These lines of communication played a key role in avoiding further escalation and stabilising the situation post-strike. (IANS)
Golden Temple was on Pak target: Army
AMRITSAR, May 19: The Indian Army on Monday showed a demonstration of how Indian air defence systems, including the Akash missile system, saved the holiest shrine of Sikhism, the Golden Temple, here and cities of Punjab from Pakistani missile and drone attacks during Operation Sindoor.
The Army also showed here debris from intercepted Pakistani missiles and drones.
Major General Kartik C Seshadri, GOC of the 15th Infantry Division, said Pakistan attempted to target the Golden Temple in Amritsar with drones and missiles on the intervening night of May 7-8 in retaliation against India’s strikes on nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and PoK. (IANS)