New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday dismissed former US President Donald Trump’s claims of brokering peace between India and Pakistan in May, crediting instead India’s military action for triggering the truce.
Speaking at the launch of the book Whither India-Pakistan Relations Today? Can They Ever Be Good Neighbours?, Tharoor said the May 10 ceasefire was a direct result of Operation Sindoor, launched by Indian forces in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
“It was India’s successful strikes, and not Mr Trump, that led to the ceasefire,” Tharoor asserted. He said Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations reached out to his Indian counterpart only after India’s precision strikes on the night of May 9–10 and New Delhi’s successful interception of a Pakistani missile attempt the following morning.
The Congress leader underlined that India’s military posture had been consistent:
“With Balakot in 2019 and Operation Sindoor now, India has sent a very clear message — we will not sit quietly if terror is unleashed on us.”
Tharoor also revealed that he had advocated for a strong military response immediately after the Pahalgam attack, even publishing an op-ed suggesting the very course of action later adopted by the government.
Following Operation Sindoor, he led a cross-party parliamentary delegation to countries including the US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, and Colombia to present India’s perspective internationally.
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly claimed he prevented a “nuclear war” between India and Pakistan, portraying himself as the architect of the ceasefire — an assertion New Delhi has consistently rejected, calling the truce a bilateral outcome.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has seized on Trump’s remarks to demand answers from the ruling NDA government, pressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify India’s official position in Parliament.
