Operation Sindoor: India rejected third-party intervention offer, says Athawale

New Delhi: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday claimed US President Donald Trump had volunteered to mediate in the military conflict between India and Pakistan but New Delhi outrightly rejected any third-party intervention.

At a press conference, the president of the Republican Party of India vacillated between praising the opposition for standing with the government during the standoff and criticising them for politicising the issue of the two neighbours reaching an understanding to stop all military actions.

"The opposition must continue to stand united with the government and not question its stance," he said.

With US President Donald Trump claiming repeatedly to have brokered a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan, the opposition parties have come down heavily on the Narendra Modi government to clarify the issue.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Government sources in New Delhi have maintained the directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea and that no third party was involved.

Echoing India's stance on the Kashmir issue, Athawale, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said, "There can be no friendship with Pakistan till they return Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to India and there is a permanent solution to the threat of cross-border terrorism." He said Trump had "volunteered to mediate" between India and Pakistan to resolve the matter, but "we clearly denied any third-party intervention".

Asked to comment on Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah's derogatory remarks about Colonel Sofia Qureshi that has sparked widespread outrage, the Union minister showered praise on her for the way she briefed the media along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh during Operation Sindoor.

Deploring the execution-style killing of 26 people in the verdant meadows of Pahalgam by terrorists on April 22, Athawale termed it a "cowardly" act and stressed the armed forces by striking terrorists infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir have sent a message around the world about India's resolve.