India has never accepted any third-party mediation on bilateral issues, says Pakistan Foreign Minister
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has openly admitted that India has never accepted any third-party mediation on bilateral issues, an admission that directly punctures former US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he personally “brokered” a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor.
Dar’s Admission
In an interview with a media outlet, Dar was asked whether Pakistan was holding any dialogue with India and if there was any third-party involvement. He responded candidly:
“We don’t mind third-party involvement, but India has categorically been stating it’s a bilateral matter. We don’t mind bilateral either, but the dialogues have to be comprehensive — on terrorism, trade, economy, Jammu and Kashmir, all subjects that we have discussed earlier.”
Dar explained that Pakistan had received a ceasefire offer via Washington in May, along with a suggestion that India and Pakistan might meet for talks at a neutral venue.
However, when he followed up with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a July 25 meeting in Washington, Rubio confirmed that India had never agreed to third-party involvement, stressing that New Delhi maintained its long-standing position that all issues with Pakistan must be resolved bilaterally.
Dar summarized the situation: “If any country wants dialogue, we are happy. But it takes two to tango. Unless India wishes to have a dialogue, we can’t force dialogue.”
Trump’s False Narrative
Dar’s admission completely contradicts Trump’s self-congratulatory claims. On May 10, Trump declared on his social media platform Truth Social that he had successfully mediated between India and Pakistan, announcing a “full and immediate ceasefire.” He wrote:
“After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Congratulations to both countries on using common sense and great intelligence.”
However, the reality was starkly different. India had already clarified that no third party was involved.
The ceasefire understanding was reached only after Pakistan’s Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Indian counterpart at 3:35 pm on May 10, requesting a halt to hostilities following India’s relentless counter-strikes under Operation Sindoor.
At 5 pm, both sides agreed to stop firing on land, sea, and air — an arrangement that India described not as a “ceasefire” but as a temporary understanding.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri immediately addressed a press conference, stating, “The DGMO of Pakistan called the DGMO of India… It was agreed that both sides would stop all firing and military action. Instructions were given to both militaries to implement the understanding.”
India’s Consistent Stand
Later, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reaffirmed that the arrangement was worked out bilaterally and without any foreign mediation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his May 11 address to the nation, reiterated that talks with Pakistan would only ever focus on terrorism and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), in line with India’s policy since the 1971 Simla Agreement.
India has consistently rejected Trump’s claims of playing mediator. As far back as 2019, Trump falsely claimed in public that Prime Minister Modi had asked him to mediate on Kashmir — a claim India firmly denied, with Modi himself dismissing it directly during their meeting at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France.
Trump’s Repeated Misrepresentation
Despite India’s clear stance, Trump continued to peddle his version of events. On May 31, he told reporters:
“I think the deal I’m most proud of is that we were able to stop a potential nuclear war between India and Pakistan. We did it through trade threats rather than bullets.”
But the facts show that India never accepted US mediation, and the ceasefire came only after Pakistan pleaded for it, following heavy losses in Operation Sindoor, during which India targeted nine terror camps across Pakistan and PoK, eliminating more than 100 terrorists in retaliation for the Pakistan-backed terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 Indians.
Exposing Trump’s Claims
Dar’s statement has effectively exposed Trump’s narrative as a political fabrication. While Trump projected himself as the peacemaker who prevented a nuclear war, both India and Pakistan acknowledge that the ceasefire came about bilaterally, initiated by Pakistan’s desperation to stop Indian counter-strikes.
For India, the matter is settled: no third-party mediation, no foreign involvement, and no deviation from the principle that Indo-Pak issues are strictly bilateral. Trump’s claims may have earned him headlines, but they stand thoroughly discredited in the light of facts presented by both Indian and Pakistani officials themselves.
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