“We Have Enormous Respect, But…”: Shashi Tharoor Counters Trump’s India-Pak Ceasefire Claim

By A Staff Reporter

New Delhi — In a pointed response to US President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that he played a pivotal role in ending hostilities between India and Pakistan, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday that India "doesn't need to be persuaded" to stop fighting, as it never sought war in the first place.

Speaking while leading a parliamentary delegation to the United States, Tharoor emphasized that India's stance on the conflict was clear from the start of Operation Sindoor on May 7, a military offensive launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

“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,” said Tharoor. “We had consistently said from the beginning that we are not interested in prolonging the conflict. This is not the opening salvo in some sort of war. All it is, is retribution against the terrorists—period.”

India has firmly denied that President Trump had any role in facilitating the ceasefire, which was announced on May 10 after four days of intense military activity, including Indian strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), and retaliatory attacks by Pakistan.

Tharoor reiterated that if Pakistan had not escalated the situation following India's limited and targeted strikes, there would have been no further action. “No one had to persuade India to stop. We retaliated only when provoked. We have no appetite for war, only for justice against terrorism,” he said.