New Delhi: No world leader asked India to stop Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted Tuesday, while revealing that US Vice President J.D. Vance tried to reach him “three-four” times on 9 May before they could finally connect on a call.
“9 tareekh ki raat ko America ke up-rashtrapati ne mujhse baat karne ka prayas kiya… woh ghante bhar se koshish kar rahe the lekin meri sena ke saath baithak chal rahi thi, isliye maine unka phone utha nahi paaya. Baad mein maine call back kiya. Maine unko kaha 3-4 baar aapka phone aa gaya…kya. (On the night of the 9th (May), the US vice president tried to contact me… He had been trying for over an hour, but I was in a meeting with my army, so I couldn’t pick up the call. Later, I called him back and asked him ‘you called three-four times’),” he recalled having told Vance.
“Then the US vice president informed me that Pakistan is about to launch a major attack. I told him if Pakistan has any such intentions, it will cost them dearly. If Pakistan attacks, we will respond with a major counterattack,” he told Vance. “We will respond to bullets with shells.”
Across the world, no leader asked India to stop Operation Sindoor, he said.
Modi’s claim comes as the government continued to face criticism over US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that the cessation of firing between India and Pakistan was mediated by his administration.
Speaking before Modi, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi referred to Trump’s claim, and said the US president has taken credit for the “ceasefire” at least 29 times.
India has repeatedly said whatever agreement happened 10 May was between India and Pakistan, and there was no involvement of any third party.
Speaking in Lok Sabha, Rahul challenged the prime minister to call Trump a “liar” on the floor of the House. The Leader of the Opposition further pointed out that Pakistani Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was having lunch with Trump, despite being the “mastermind” of the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
The attack on 22 April left 26 people dead. Trump was one of the first global leaders to speak to Modi in the immediate aftermath of the attack, while the prime minister was still in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on an official visit.
The American president has further asserted that he used the threat of trade to mediate the end of hostilities between India and Pakistan that lasted for roughly 87 hours between 7 May and 10 May.
During his speech in Lok Sabha Monday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated there was no discussion on trade when Vice President Vance spoke with Modi on the night of 9 May.
While Modi spoke with Trump on 22 April, his next call with the American president was on 17 June, more than a month after armed hostilities between India and Pakistan had ended.
During the 17 June call, the prime minister reiterated that the understanding to pause the hostilities was achieved bilaterally between the armed forces of India and Pakistan, as reported earlier.
Home Minister Amit Shah revealed Tuesday that a joint operation, codenamed “Mahadev”, eliminated three terrorists—Suleiman, Afghan and Jibran—who were behind the attack in Pahalgam. The terrorists were affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
In the immediate aftermath of the 22 April terrorist attack, LeT proxy The Resistance Front claimed responsibility for the attack at least twice. The outfit later withdrew its claim. However, India has maintained that the TRF was behind the attack. Eventually, earlier this month the US designated the outfit as a foreign terrorist organisation.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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