Days after US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim that he prevented a conflict between India and Pakistan, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor responded on Tuesday, emphasising that India doesn’t “need to be persuaded” since it has no desire for war.
India has consistently denied assertions that President Trump played a decisive role in securing the India-Pakistan ceasefire on May 10, which followed four days of intense cross-border clashes. Leading an Indian parliamentary delegation to the US to highlight India’s zero-tolerance policy on terrorism, Tharoor pointed out that India had “consistently” maintained from the outset—on May 7, when Indian forces launched Operation Sindoor to retaliate against the terror attack in Pahalgam—that it was “not interested in prolonging the conflict.”
“We have enormous respect for the American presidency, and we will speak with that respect in mind. But broadly speaking, our understanding is a bit different. We had consistently said from the very beginning on May 7 that we are not interested in prolonging the conflict. This is not the opening salvo in some sort of war. All it is is retribution against the terrorists, period. If Pakistan had not reacted, we would not have reacted,” he told the news agency ANI.
Tharoor, whose party has challenged the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on President Trump’s ceasefire claims, stated that no one needed to “persuade India to stop.”
“We had already said to stop. If there was any persuasion by the American president or his senior officials, it would have been persuasion of the Pakistanis. They would have had to be persuaded,” he explained.
“We don’t need to be persuaded because we don’t want war. We want to focus on development. That’s the basic message,” the Congress leader added.
Trump says he stopped ‘potential nuclear war’ between India, Pak
Shashi Tharoor’s remarks came shortly after President Trump claimed that the “deal” he is most proud of was his ability to halt “potentially a nuclear war” between India and Pakistan.
“I think the deal I’m most proud of is the fact that we’re dealing with India, we’re dealing with Pakistan, and we were able to stop potentially a nuclear war through trade as opposed to through bullets,” he said during a press conference in the Oval Office last Friday.
“It was getting very bad. It was getting very nasty. They are both nuclear powers,” he added.
“We can’t trade with people that are shooting at each other and potentially using nuclear weapons,” President Trump continued.
He also praised the leaders of both countries, saying they are “great leaders” who “understood, and they agreed, and that all stopped.”
India-Pakistan tensions
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed 26 lives.
After uncovering cross-border links to the attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Pakistan responded with a significant missile and drone strike, which was successfully countered.
In retaliation, Indian forces struck airfields in Pakistan. The hostilities ended with a ceasefire on May 10.
India has maintained that the ceasefire was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) from both militaries.