Congress Questions India’s Post-Operation Sindoor Diplomacy, Cites US Role In Ceasefire

On the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, the Congress on Thursday criticised the government, saying that despite extensive diplomatic outreach by India, Pakistan had not been isolated as it was after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. It also said Pakistan’s army chief had been received with “extraordinary warmth” by US President Donald Trump.

According to PTI, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the first announcement of the ceasefire that halted Operation Sindoor was made at 5:37 PM IST on May 10, 2025, by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who attributed it to intervention by President Trump.

He said, "As we celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of Operation Sindoor and salute the achievements of our armed forces, it would be useful to recall the following: The first announcement of the cease fire that halted Operation Sindoor unexpectedly was made at 5:37 PM IST on May 10 2025 by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio who claimed that it was intervention by President Trump that had made this possible."

"Subsequently, the US President has repeated this claim over a hundred times in different countries without ever having been refuted even once by his good friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Ramesh said on X.

PTI reported that Ramesh also referred to statements made by senior military officers in the months following the operation. He recalled that Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, speaking in Singapore on May 30, 2025, said India suffered initial losses due to tactical errors but later corrected them and carried out precision strikes deep inside Pakistan.

On June 10, 2025, at a seminar in Jakarta, the Defence Attache at the Indian embassy in Indonesia acknowledged that India lost aircraft on May 7, 2025, due to constraints set by political leadership, he added.

The Congress leader also cited remarks by Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt General Rahul Singh on July 4, 2025, which, he said, highlighted China’s role in Pakistan’s response to Operation Sindoor, including provision of equipment, ammunition, live inputs, satellite imagery and real-time targeting support.

"In spite of extensive diplomatic outreach by India, Pakistan did not get isolated as it had been following the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008. On the contrary, its army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has been embraced with extraordinary warmth by President Trump from June 2025 onwards and the world's leading sponsor of cross-border terrorism, namely Pakistan, has come in for praise from the US military establishment," the Congress leader said.

He also alleged that the government’s approach towards China had continued in a “calibrated” manner, citing issues such as the loss of traditional patrolling rights in Ladakh, rising Chinese imports and relaxation of foreign direct investment norms.

According to PTI, Ramesh further referred to the post-Operation Sindoor situation following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed. India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, last year, targeting nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir through airstrikes.

The subsequent escalation saw Pakistan carry out retaliatory strikes, most of which were intercepted by Indian forces, he said.

Hostilities eventually ended on May 10 after an understanding was reached to halt military action through hotline talks between the two sides’ army officials.

Ramesh also drew a parallel with the aftermath of the Kargil War, noting that the Vajpayee government had set up a four-member Kargil Review Committee chaired by strategic affairs expert K Subrahmanyam, father of the External Affairs Minister. The committee, titled “From Surprise to Reckoning”, submitted its report on January 7, 2000, which was tabled in Parliament on February 23, 2000.

He also shared a screenshot of Rubio’s post on X announcing the ceasefire and video clips of statements made by General Chauhan and Lt General Rahul Singh.

(With inputs from PTI)