'US was in the United States': Jaishankar junks Donald Trump's India-Pak mediation claims

Speaking to Netherlands-based broadcaster NOS, Jaishankar said, "It was the Pakistani army which sent a message that they were ready to stop firing, and we responded accordingly."

Regarding Washington's involvement in the ceasefire, the minister said, "The US was in the United States."

"We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the United States but to everyone, saying if the Pakistanis want to stop fighting, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their general has to call up our general and say this. And that is what happened," he added.

In a complete surprise, Trump had announced that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, who were engaged in a military conflict for three days from May 7.

Later, both India and Pakistan had confirmed the ceasefire agreement.

Not just the US involvement, the India government had categorically rejected Trump's claim that he had used trade as an incentive for the ceasefire deal.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said India and the US discussed the then undergoing military operation but trade was not the subject in any of those discussions.

"From the time of Operation Sindoor commenced on May 7 till the understanding of cessation of firing and military action on May 10, there were conversations between India and US leaders on the evolving military situation. The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions," Jaiswal said.

But in a completely contrasting claim, Trump said, "I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’ll do a trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade."

"And all of a sudden, they said, I think we’re going to stop," the US President said and added, "For a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one."

In a retaliation against the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor hitting nine terrorist bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The military conflict escalated after Pakistan targeted civilians across the borders without any provocation to be aptly countered by the Indian military.

Rejecting Trump's offer for a mediation with a veil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on Monday said India and Pakistan can only talk on two topics, terrorism and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

"I would also like to tell the global community that our stated policy has been: if there are talks with Pakistan, it will be only on terrorism; and if there are talks with Pakistan, it will be only on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)," he said.