Break silence: Cong to PM on repeated US claims on India-Pak ceasefire

The Congress on Wednesday once again urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his "silence" on the Trump administration's repeated claims on how the India-Pakistan "ceasefire" was brought about.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh wrote in an X post, "The Prime Minister should let the country know whether it is true that the US Commerce Secretary Howard Luttnick (sic) filed a statement in the New York-based US Court of International Trade on May 23rd, 2025 swearing that President Trump used his tariff power to broker a 'tenuous ceasefire' between India and Pakistan and bring about a 'fragile peace'?"

There was no immediate reaction from the government on the issue, but it has maintained that the India-Pakistan understanding on cessation of hostilities was arrived at following direct negotiations between the directors-general of military operations on both sides.

In his post on X, Ramesh also said, "Mr. Luttnick follows in the footsteps of President Trump himself who made this assertion 8 times in 11 days in 3 different countries. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has echoed the same and also mentioned a 'neutral site' for talks between India and Pakistan. Pradhan Mantri Chuppi Todo (break your silence, prime minister)."

The US President has been repeatedly claiming that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India carried out precision strikes under Operation Sindoor on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir early on 7 May in response to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack which killed 26 people, and which India claimed was orchestrated by The Resistance Front, an affiliate of the banned Pakistan-backed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on 8, 9 and 10 May. The Indian forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations, and the Indian Army later claimed 30-40 casualties among Pakistan's armed forces.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on 10 May to end the military confrontation after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes as well as heavy artillery shelling by Pakistan on civilian areas along the Line of Control, causing multiple fatalities among Indian civilians.

On 10 May, US President Donald Trump was the first to announce that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks "mediated" by Washington.

With PTI inputs