India rebuffs Trump’s claim, reiterates bilateral talks with Pakistan

India clarified on Thursday that it informed Pakistan after launching strikes on terrorist targets inside Pakistan on May 7. This statement comes amid a political row over External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s comments, which the Opposition interpreted as an admission of informing Pakistan after the strikes, accusing him of treason.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal issued a clarification, stating, “Maarne ke baad bataya, ghatna ke baad bataya..” (We informed Pakistan after the action, following the incident). The controversy surrounds India’s Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the death of 26 civilians.

India rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that he brokered a ceasefire between New Delhi and Islamabad for the eighth time, affirming that any engagement between the two countries must be bilateral. Randhir Jaiswal emphasised that talks and terror are incompatible, reiterating India’s stance that any India-Pakistan engagement must be bilateral.