Shashi Tharoor, a prominent Indian Member of Parliament, has weighed in on the repeated claims made by former US President Donald Trump regarding his role in mediating tensions between India and Pakistan. Tharoor's comments come in the wake of Trump's assertions that he helped broker a ceasefire between the two countries, even suggesting that trade deals were contingent upon them ceasing hostilities.
Tharoor, leading a multi-party delegation to the United States, addressed these claims during a conversation at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. He stated that India views the situation differently and that he doesn't know what the U.S. said to Pakistan. He also said that there was no equivalence between terrorists and their victims.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a "full and immediate" ceasefire after a "long night" of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over a dozen times that he "helped settle" the tensions between India and Pakistan. He has also claimed that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors that America would do a "lot of trade" with them if they stopped the conflict.
Tharoor has been a vocal critic of the idea that the U.S. played a significant mediating role. He emphasized that India has consistently maintained its position that any issues related to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir must be addressed bilaterally with Pakistan. This stance aligns with India's long-standing policy of refusing international mediation on the Kashmir issue.
Tharoor has also pointed out that India was already willing to de-escalate the conflict, and that the message was consistently conveyed to all parties involved. He suggested that if any persuasion was needed, it was Pakistan that needed to be convinced to cease hostilities. He stated that India did not need any persuasion for a ceasefire as the country never wanted war. "We have enormous respect for the American presidency, and we will speak with that respect in mind. But broadly speaking, our understanding is a bit different... No one needed to persuade us to stop. We had already said to stop," he said.
Furthermore, Tharoor has strongly refuted the notion that trade was used as leverage to influence India's decisions. He said that India did not want to jeopardize its relationship with the U.S. over details about the level of U.S. President Donald Trump's involvement in brokering the May 10 cease fire between India and Pakistan.
Shashi Tharoor has emphasized that India's position is that there can be no dialogue with Pakistan with a "gun pointed at our head". He stated that India is happy to dialogue with them in any of those languages, but "the problem is we will not dialogue with people who are pointing a gun at our heads".
Tharoor has also criticized Pakistan for its alleged support of terrorism. Addressing Pakistan's diplomatic efforts, Tharoor remarked, "They can come with their narratives... But anybody who has followed this issue beyond official headlines will have absolutely no doubt as to what the Pakistani denials are worth — which is not very much".
In summary, Shashi Tharoor's statements reflect India's consistent stance on bilateral talks with Pakistan, its rejection of third-party mediation on Kashmir, and its firm position against terrorism. While acknowledging the U.S.'s role in maintaining communication between the two countries, Tharoor suggests that any significant persuasion would have been directed towards Pakistan.
