"Let Me Be Blunt About It": Shashi Tharoor On Trump's Role In Ceasefire

Congress MP and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor on Sunday weighed in on US President Donald Trump claiming credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, suggesting it was "not mediation" but US efforts at playing a constructive role.

Trump had on Saturday evening claimed that the US had mediated between India and Pakistan, and the two neighbours had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Within an hour, both countries officially announced the ceasefire.

Mr Tharoor called it a "very unfortunate way of proceeding", in a remark to NDTV hours after his party's former chief and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi underlined that Trump first announced the ceasefire in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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#NDTVExclusive | "Kinetic hostility not India's doing": Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) to NDTV's @maryashakil pic.twitter.com/JgVBwmKNpb

— NDTV (@ndtv) May 11, 2025

"I think that's a very unfortunate way of proceeding. I have certainly never seen anything like that in international diplomacy," said the MP from Thiruvananthapuram who had served at the UN.

Mr Tharoor pointed out that foreign ministers of both India and Pakistan have been posting online about their conversations with foreign leaders over the past few days.

"Let me be blunt about it...Jaishankar spoke to Secretary Rubio. Then he (Rubio) spoke with the foreign minister of Pakistan. These kinds of contacts were going on throughout these three or four days of the conflict. But that doesn't mean that India was requesting mediation," he said.

The former diplomat suggested that India's conversations with the US cannot be termed as mediation, but a constructive role played by Washington.

"That's not mediation. That is the Americans trying to play a constructive role. If they or any other country did that, (that's) great. Frankly, the US was not the only country. Jaishankar has been speaking to the foreign ministers of the UAE, UK, or France (as well)," he added.

The fact, he said, is that such conversations often include other nations talking to both sides, in which they apprise each country of the other's side.

"That is not the same as Trump claiming credit for mediation because India would have never sought mediation, doesn't mean mediation, and I think would never accept the idea that we have in any way accepted foreign mediation in a conflict that we are perfectly capable of handling ourselves," added Mr Tharoor.

Trump had congratulated India and Pakistan in a post on his Truth Social platform for the ceasefire that he claimed was mediated by the United States.

"After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter," he wrote on Truth Social.

A day later, he said he was proud of the "strong and unwaveringly powerful leadership" of the two countries for agreeing to the halt in aggression. "I am proud that the USA was able to help you arrive at this historic and heroic decision," he claimed.

He also offered to work with the two neighbours to find a solution to the Kashmir issue. While an Indian government reaction to his offer is awaited, it may be pointed out that New Delhi has always stressed that Kashmir is an integral part of India and opposed any third-party mediation.

The ceasefire followed three nights of intense cross-border firing and drone and missile attacks from Pakistan after Indian forces carried out Operation Sindoor, striking terror targets deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) in response to the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack. With Indian forces bombing Pakistani airfields in retaliation, Pakistan incurred a heavy cost for the provocation.