New Delhi, July 28, 2025 — External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday flatly denied U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that he forced a ceasefire in the recent India–Pakistan conflict by threatening to cut off trade. Speaking during a Lok Sabha debate on Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory strike against terrorist bases in Pakistan, Jaishankar stressed that neither trade nor a call from Prime Minister Modi to President Trump played any role in de-escalating the crisis.
Jaishankar told MPs that no phone call took place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump during the tense period after the April 22 Pahalgam attack. “At no stage in any conversation with the United States was there any linkage with trade,” he said. “And there was no call between the Prime Minister and President Trump from April 22—when President Trump called to offer sympathy—and June 17—when President Trump, in Canada, explained why he could not meet the Prime Minister.”
The minister outlined how Operation Sindoor, launched the night of the Pahalgam attack, has established a new “normal” for India–Pakistan relations by making clear that cross-border terror will be met with “appropriate response” and that terrorists will no longer be treated as proxies. He summarized the policy in five points:
- Terrorists will not be treated as proxies.
- Cross-border terrorism will draw an appropriate response.
- Terror and talks cannot go hand in hand—dialogue will focus solely on terror.
- India will not yield to nuclear blackmail.
- Terror and good-neighbourliness cannot coexist.
Jaishankar also defended sending multi-party delegations abroad to present India’s case on cross-border terrorism and Operation Sindoor, even as Opposition members challenged the government over President Trump’s public claims.
Home Minister Amit Shah urged the Opposition to trust India’s External Affairs Minister over foreign commentary: “Our minister has taken an oath of office and is making this statement here. They [the Opposition] do not trust him but believe another country’s claims.”
President Trump first claimed credit for brokering a ceasefire via his social media platform TruthSocial on May 10—shortly before India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced the truce. On July 22, Trump reiterated that he had threatened to halt U.S. trade with both nuclear-armed nations to force them to stand down.
Prime Minister Modi praised Jaishankar’s address as “outstanding” on X, noting that the minister had made India’s position on terrorism and Operation Sindoor clearly heard around the world.
