MAY 13, 2025
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has come down heavily on US President Donald Tup claiming credit for the mediation between the governments of India and Pakistan, eventually leading to both sides agreeing to a suspension of military operations.
Speaking to NDTV in an interview, Tharoor, a former diplomat, said that US President’s claims of mediation were misplaced and that India would never accept the idea of foreign mediation in a conflict that we are fully capable of handling ourselves.
Tharoor said that foreign ministers of both India and Pakistan have been posting online about their conversations with foreign leaders over the past few days.
“Jaishankar spoke to Secretary Rubio. Then he (Rubio) spoke with the foreign minister of Pakistan. These kinds of contacts were going on throughout these three or four days of the conflict. But that doesn’t mean that India was requesting mediation,” Tharoor said.
Tharoor said that India’s conversations with the US cannot be termed as mediation, but at best a constructive role played by Washington.
“That’s not mediation. That is the Americans trying to play a constructive role. If they or any other country did that, great. Frankly, the US was not the only country. Jaishankar has been speaking to the foreign ministers of the UAE, UK, or France (as well),” he added.
Tharoor further said that such conversations with other nations are normal and that apprising each country of the view of the other side is not the same as Trump claiming credit for mediation.
“India would have never sought mediation, doesn’t mean mediation, and I think would never accept the idea that we have in any way accepted foreign mediation in a conflict that we are perfectly capable of handling ourselves,” Tharoor said.
Trump had on Saturday evening claimed that the US had mediated between India and Pakistan, and the two neighbours had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Following Trump’s post, both countries officially announced the ceasefire.
He repeated the claim on Sunday and said he was proud of the “strong and unwaveringly powerful leadership” of the two countries for agreeing to the halt in aggression.
“I am proud that the USA was able to help you arrive at this historic and heroic decision,” he claimed.
Notably, Trump also offered to work with India and Pakistan to find a solution to the Kashmir issue. India, on the other hand, has maintained that the sole pending agenda regarding Kashmir was Pakistan’s illegal occupation and that there has been no change in India’s position on Kashmir. India has always stressed that Kashmir remains and integral part of India and has rejected any offer for a third-party mediation.
Tensions between the two neighbouring nations intensified following the Pahalgam attack and India’s retaliatory actions through Operation Sindoor. As many as nine terror installations were struck in PoK and deep inside Pakistan by a joint operation by India’s armed forces, destroying some high-value terror camps and the death of over 100 terrorists.
Pakistan responded with ceasefire violations and cross-border shelling along the LoC and the International Border. Indian forces responded forcefully destroying several of Pakistan’s air bases.
Courtesy/Source: India Today / PTI
