Congress Flags ‘Severe Setback’ To Indian Diplomacy After US Panel’s Claim Of Pakistan’s ‘Military Success’

The Congress on Thursday criticised what it termed “yet another severe setback” to India’s diplomatic standing, after reports emerged that a US commission had referred to “Pakistan’s military success over India” during a four-day confrontation earlier this year. The party demanded to know whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the Ministry of External Affairs intended to challenge the assertions formally.

Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh expressed strong objection to portions of the annual report submitted by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission to the US Congress. Highlighting that the bipartisan body, constituted jointly by the Senate and the House of Representatives, comprises twelve independent members, Ramesh noted that its 2025 report spans nearly 800 pages.

He pointed specifically to pages 108 and 109, calling their content “astonishing and beyond understanding.” According to Ramesh, the report categorised the April 2025 Pahalgam attack, attributed to Pakistan, as an “insurgent attack” and went on to describe “Pakistan’s military success over India” during the brief conflict.

Ramesh also criticised Prime Minister Modi for remaining silent even as former US President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed credit for halting Operation Sindoor. “President Trump has claimed 60 times (so far) that he had halted Operation Sindoor. The PM has kept completely quiet,” he wrote on X.

The excerpts shared by Ramesh included the commission’s description of the May 7–10 clash: “China's role in the May 7–10, 2025, clash between Pakistan's and India's militaries drew global attention as Pakistan's military relied upon Chinese weaponry and reportedly leveraged Chinese intelligence… both countries attacked targets farther into one another's territories than at any time in 50 years.”

The report further stated: “Pakistan's military success over India in its four-day clash showcased Chinese weaponry… Beijing opportunistically leveraged the conflict to test and advertise the sophistication of its weapons.”

Ramesh questioned whether the Modi government intended to lodge an official protest with Washington. “Our diplomacy has suffered yet another severe setback,” he said, sharing screenshots of the document.

In a separate post, the Congress leader criticised Trump for reiterating his claim of having intervened to end Operation Sindoor. He noted that Trump had repeated the assertion for the 61st time, this time at a US–Saudi Arabia conclave attended by the Saudi Crown Prince.

"Hours after an independent Commission set up by the US Congress issued a report claiming that Pakistan achieved 'military success over India' during Operation Sindoor, the President of the US has once again trumpeted… that he brought an end to Operation Sindoor by threatening to impose tariffs of 350 percent on India," Ramesh said.

With PTI inputs