New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs Tuesday said trade was not discussed between India and the US during Operation Sindoor and that it was the force of arms that “compelled” Pakistan to “stop its firing”.
At a press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “From the time Operation Sindoor commenced on 7 May till the understanding on cessation of firing and military action on 10 May, there were conversations between Indian and US leaders on the evolving military situation. The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions.”
His response comes as US President Donald Trump said Monday that Washington’s threats to stop trade with both countries led to the cessation of hostilities. India has maintained that there was no third-party mediation in the agreement to cease firing struck between the two countries Saturday.
Jaiswal was clear that it was “the force of Indian arms that compelled Pakistan to stop firing,” following the extremely effective attack mounted by the Indian Armed Forces on the morning of 10 May against eight Pakistan Air Force Bases.
“The specific date, time and wording of the understanding was worked out between the DGMOs of the two countries at their phone call on 10 May 2025 commencing 1535 hrs. The request for this call was received by the MEA from the Pakistani High Commission at 1237 hrs,” said Jaiswal.
“The Pakistani side had initial difficulties connecting the hotline to the Indian side for technical reasons. The timing was then decided based on the availability of the Indian DGMO at 1535 hrs.”
The spokesperson added, “As regards conversations with other nations, the message from India was clear and consistent. And exactly the same message that we were conveying from public platforms was the one conveyed in private conversations. It was that India was responding to the 22 April terrorist attack by targeting the terrorist infrastructure. However, if the Pakistani armed forces fire, Indian armed forces will fire back; if Pakistan stops, India will also stop.”
This was a message conveyed to Pakistan the moment Operation Sindoor began in the early hours of 7 May, he said.
India struck nine terrorist complexes, including Bahawalpur, Muridke and Muzaffarabad, in the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on 22 April, which left 26 tourists dead, including 25 Indians and one foreign national. Bahawalpur is the home of the United Nations proscribed organisation, the Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Muridke is the home of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“In the last week, as a result of Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has seen its terrorism centres in Bahawalpur, Muridke, Muzaffarabad and other places destroyed. Thereafter, its military capabilities were significantly degraded by us, and key air bases were effectively put out of action. If the Pakistani FM wishes to project these as achievements, he is welcome to do so,” said Jaiswal.
He added, “Where India is concerned, our stand was clear and consistent from the start. We would target terrorist infrastructure operating out of Pakistan. If the Pakistani military stayed out, there would be no problem. If they fired on us, we would respond suitably.”
“Till the night of 9th May, Pakistan was threatening India with a massive assault. Once their attempt failed on 10th May morning and received a devastating Indian counter-response, their tune changed, and their DGMO eventually reached out to us.”
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)