Pakistan Acknowledges US Role in Operation Sindoor Ceasefire While India Denies Trump's Involvement

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met US President Donald Trump at the White House

New Delhi:

Did Pakistan just acknowledge the US involvement in securing a ceasefire with India during Operation Sindoor? A summary of discussions between Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir with US President Donald Trump suggested that the American leader played a significant role in initiating the ceasefire—according to Pakistan's account.

India has repeatedly denied assertions that Mr Trump was instrumental in brokering the ceasefire following its airstrikes on terror and military facilities in Pakistan, which were conducted after the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed 26 tourists' lives in April.

The US president, nevertheless, has maintained the same narrative as Pakistani leadership, claiming he contributed significantly to the agreement between the two nuclear-armed neighbors to cease hostilities and prevent escalation.

According to the Pakistani statement: "Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir met with US President Donald J Trump at the Oval Office today. The Prime Minister lauded President Trump's bold, courageous and decisive leadership for facilitating the Pakistan-India ceasefire and praised his initiative to invite key Muslim world leaders in efforts to bring an immediate end to the conflict in Gaza and restore peace in the Middle East."

"The leaders discussed enhancing the bilateral partnership, with the Prime Minister inviting US investment in Pakistan's key sectors and stressing the need to further enhance security and intelligence cooperation. The Prime Minister also extended a warm and cordial invitation to President Trump to undertake an official visit to Pakistan, at his convenience," the Pakistani statement continued.

Since the beginning of the ceasefire, India has consistently maintained that it was Pakistan's top military official who reached out to his Indian counterpart to end hostilities and establish peace.

When this communication occurred, India had already destroyed numerous key terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and military targets including hangars, radar installations, anti-aircraft platforms, and even a valuable airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft while it was grounded.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has revealed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted him to convey that "the Pakistanis are ready to talk," after which Pakistan's Director-General of Military Operations initiated contact with India.

"There was no call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump between April 22 (the Pahalgam terror attack) and June 17 (the date the ceasefire was announced)," Mr Jaishankar stated in parliament recently during a discussion on Operation Sindoor.

Unlike the 2016 Uri surgical strikes, 2019 Balakot airstrikes, or other previous Indian operations with limited scale and scope, Operation Sindoor was technologically sophisticated, extensive, and unprecedented in India's military history. The decision to strike deep into Pakistan-occupied territory signified a departure from previous doctrine.

Operation Sindoor remains ongoing; Indian forces will strike wherever terrorist threats emerge, according to government statements. The operation was not only the most comprehensive cross-border strike conducted by India since the Balakot operation but also represented an evolution in India's strategic stance.

Following intelligence agencies' connection of the Pahalgam attackers to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based terrorist organization with an extensive history of targeting Indian civilians and security forces, India conducted strikes across nine locations throughout Pakistan and PoK including Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bahawalpur, Rawalakot, Chakswari, Bhimber, Neelum Valley, Jhelum, and Chakwal.

The operation involved 24 missile strikes in total, making it the most extensive single-day precision operation ever executed by India.