New Delhi, July 30: During a Rajya Sabha debate on Operation Sindoor, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Wednesday delivered a firm clarification regarding speculations around diplomatic engagements between India and the U.S.
He categorically stated that no phone conversations occurred between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the U.S. President Donald Trump between April 22 and June 16. Jaishankar asserted in Upper House, “…Main unko kehna chahta hoon, woh kaan kholke sun le. 22 April se 16 June tak, ek bhi phone call President Trump aur Prime Minister Modi ke beech mein nahi hua.” (I want to make it absolutely clear – those who are spreading misinformation should listen carefully – there was not a single phone call between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi during that period.)
Addressing concerns raised during the discussion, Jaishankar also underlined India’s unwavering policy against third-party mediation in its dealings with Pakistan. He reiterated that any dialogue must be strictly bilateral and contingent upon formal communication through the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMO).
“When Operation Sindoor was initiated, several countries reached out to understand the situation,” the Minister said. “We conveyed a consistent message – we were not open to any external mediation. Any issue between India and Pakistan would be settled bilaterally. We were responding to an attack, and that response would continue unless Pakistan formally requested a cessation of hostilities through the appropriate military channel.”
Jaishankar used the opportunity to take aim at the Congress party, accusing it of being “uncomfortable with history,” especially in relation to India’s water-sharing agreements and past decisions on Kashmir. The Minister referred specifically to the Indus Water Treaty, which he called “a unique and perhaps unprecedented agreement” in which a country allows its rivers to flow into a neighbouring nation without retaining usage rights.
“Few treaties in the world compare to the Indus Water Treaty in terms of one-sided generosity. When people today question its current status, we must also reflect on how it was conceived,” Jaishankar said, criticising the approach taken by then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1960.
Quoting Nehru’s remarks from a parliamentary session on November 30, 1960, Jaishankar noted: “He [Nehru] said he was doing this for the benefit of Pakistani Punjab – there was not a single mention of Indian farmers in Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, or Gujarat.”
The External Affairs Minister concluded by affirming that Prime Minister Modi has taken corrective measures on critical national issues, including the Indus Water Treaty and the abrogation of Article 370, to address what he described as “historical mistakes.”
IANS