New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday, July 30, laid out a detailed timeline leading up to the ceasefire that followed Operation Sindoor. He also rejected allegations of foreign mediation and asserted that India’s response to Pakistani aggression was "resolute, measured, and entirely self-driven."
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Monsoon Session, Jaishankar said that the sequence began on May 9, when US Vice President JD Vance called Prime Minister Narendra Modi, warning of an impending large-scale Pakistani attack. According to Jaishankar, the Prime Minister responded firmly, assuring that if Pakistan chooses to act, India will deliver a “fitting and appropriate response”.
Subsequently, Pakistan launched an attack, which was immediately met with Indian retaliation targeting and disabling Pakistan’s air defence systems. Only after this decisive response, said Jaishankar, did phone calls start pouring in from various countries indicating Pakistan’s willingness to halt further escalation.
Have a look at his entire statement here:
'No foreign mediation, only official military channels'
Jaishankar specifically dismissed claims made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi that US President Donald Trump played a role in brokering the ceasefire. “Let me say this clearly, between April 22 and June 16, not a single phone call took place between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi,” he said in the Upper House.
He clarified that while India was in diplomatic contact with various nations, including Saudi Arabia, the government had consistently maintained that it would not accept any form of mediation. “We conveyed that if the fighting is to stop, it must be requested by Pakistan’s DGMO, and that’s exactly what happened,” he added.
he further said that India’s line was clear; there was no backchannel diplomacy and no intermediaries, only direct and official communication through the militaries.
However, much before India's announcement of a ceasefire with Pakistan, Trump took to his social media platform Truths Social, saying that the United States "mediated a long night of talks" between the two countries. Have a look:
Screengrab of Trump's post on Truth Social.
Few days later, Trump was also seen talking about brokering a ceasefire between the two nations in a video address from the White House. Take a look:
'Ceasefire was earned, not negotiated'
Jaishankar’s remarks were part of a broader discussion on the handling of Operation Sindoor and the government’s foreign policy posture. By laying out the chronology, the minister tried to highlight India’s "independent handling" of the crisis and claims that external forces were ever involved in the peace agreement.
