Congress hits out at Centre after US report downplays Pahalgam terror attack

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday drew sharp attention to what he termed "deeply uncomforting and unsettling" distortions in a recent report of a US congressional panel, accusing the Centre of allowing a grave diplomatic slight to go unanswered.

Posting on X, Ramesh spotlighted portions of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s nearly 800-page annual report, which astonishingly described the Pahalgam terror attack—in which Pakistan-backed terrorists massacred 26 civilians—as merely an “insurgent attack”. Such mischaracterisation, he said, was unacceptable and a blow to India’s narrative in global forums.

Ramesh questioned why the government remained silent even as the report went further, venturing into contentious and misleading territory. It claimed that China ran an aggressive disinformation campaign after Operation Sindoor, circulating morphed images to tarnish India’s Rafale jets and impede their global sale.

The panel also asserted that “only three Indian jets were reportedly downed”, and suggested — again without evidence — that Pakistan’s “military success” in the four-day confrontation highlighted the superiority of Chinese weaponry.

Calling these assertions “astonishing” and “beyond understanding,” Ramesh asked: “Will the prime minister and the MEA register a formal protest? Or will silence once again speak louder than diplomacy?”

He noted that President Trump had repeatedly boasted of having “halted” Operation Sindoor — claims New Delhi has neither confirmed nor challenged — adding yet another layer of diplomatic discomfort.

The US panel report also claimed that Chinese embassies actively celebrated Pakistan’s battlefield performance, using it as a marketing pitch for Chinese military systems. India, meanwhile, has firmly rejected Pakistan’s exaggerated claims of downing six Indian aircraft, acknowledging only limited losses during what it maintains was a successful and strategically decisive Operation Sindoor.

In Ramesh’s telling, the episode reflects not just an error in a foreign report, but a moment where India’s diplomatic voice appears conspicuously muted — an omission he warns may have far-reaching consequences.

With IANS inputs