Decision to Stop Military Action with Pakistan Taken Bilaterally, Foreign Secretary Tells Parl Panel

New Delhi: Foreign secretary Vikram Misri informed a parliamentary panel on Monday (May 19) that the decision to stop military action during the four-day long conflict with Pakistan earlier this month was taken bilaterally, reports have said.

Misri’s statement came while briefing the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs, the news agency PTI has reported.

The report said that opposition members in the 31-member panel had questioned the US president’s recent statements in which he had claimed that he had mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Misri said that no other country has any locus standi to comment on issues related to Jammu and Kashmir, various reports said, quoting sources.

The foreign secretary’s briefing to the parliamentary committee comes days after Operation Sindoor when the Indian military conducted strikes on nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir on May 7. This was followed by a four-day long tense military conflict which included drones and missile attacks. The conflict ended on May 10 with Trump announcing that he had mediated a ceasefire between the two countries.

Misri also said in his briefing to the committee that the conflict between India and Pakistan remained in the conventional domain and that there was no nuclear signalling from Pakistan. But added that it is unlikely that there will be any improvement in the bilateral relations between the two countries.

While some opposition MPs asked if Chinese platforms were used by Pakistan, Misri is reported to have said that it did not matter as India had struck Pakistani air bases effectively.

The committee headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also wanted to pass a unanimous resolution against the social media trolling against Misri, but the foreign secretary objected. Members however collectively condemned the trolling, Tharoor said after the meeting.

“It was a very thorough, wide-ranging discussion. We had 24 members attending, which I think is a record for this committee. The fact is that this was a very thorough discussion. Many of the MPs had thoughtful questions to ask,” he told journalists after the meeting.

“There was even a desire to have a resolution expressing solidarity with the Foreign Secretary in the face of the unwarranted attacks or comments, he himself requested that there should be no resolution but it was a unanimous sentiment of the committee, that he has performed good service for the nation, we all stand with him. That was not a formal resolution but it was definitely the wish of everyone.”

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