Hyderabad: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday virtually rejected US President Donald Trump’s claims of intervening to stop the Indo-Pak conflict following Operation Sindoor, saying the action against terrorists was not suspended due to any third-party mediation.
Speaking at the ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ celebrations organised by the union government here, he said ‘Operation Sindoor’ would resume if any terrorist attack took place in the future.
“There are some people who ask whether the ceasefire between India and Pakistan happened because of the intervention of someone. I would like to make it clear–the operation against terrorists was not suspended because of someone’s intervention,” he said.
“Some claim to have stopped the operation between India and Pakistan. Nobody stopped it. I would like to clarify that Mohammad Ishaq Dar, who is Pakistan’s Deputy PM and foreign minister, also made it clear that India rejected the third-party role in mediation,” he said.
PM Modi has also made it clear that it is a bilateral issue and a third party cannot interfere, he said.
In an interview with Al Jazeera in Doha, and when asked about negotiations with India or Pakistan’s openness to third-party involvement, Dar had replied, “We don’t mind, but India has categorically been stating it’s a bilateral matter…”
Dar recalled that when he met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in July and asked about dialogue with India, the top US diplomat clarified that India has maintained it is a “bilateral issue.”
“When I met Rubio on July 25 in Washington, I asked him what happened to the dialogue. He said that India says it is a bilateral issue,” Dar recalled.
Tensions between India and Pakistan soared after terrorists killed 26 people, mostly civilians, in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack.
The two countries reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he brokered a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Rajnth Singh further said a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander has admitted to the deaths of the terror group chief Masood Azhar’s family members in the Indian missile strikes in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
He said a video confirming it has also been released.
Speaking about India’s growing strength, he asserted that no one can challenge the country’s sovereignty.
He highlighted that in the last 11 years, under the leadership of PM Modi, the country has repeatedly demonstrated its resolve through actions like surgical strike in 2016, Balakot air strike in 2019 and Operation Sindoor this year.
According to him, these operations prove that India knows how to respond to those who do not understand peace.
Not only engaging in dialogue, today’s India is capable of directly confronting its enemies, he said.
Singh said ‘Operation Sindoor’ was suspended after Pakistan made repeated pleas for a ceasefire, emphasising that the operation is only “paused” and not over.
“Today’s India does not take dictation from anyone. India writes its own script. Today India is ready to write script of such a world order, which the entire world will follow happily and willingly,” the minister said.
On the atrocities committed by Razakars (armed supporters of Nizam rule), he drew a parallel to the Pahalgam terror attack, where people were killed after asking for their religious identity.
Singh recalled the massacre in Gorta village in Bidar district, where 200 Hindus were killed, committed by Razakars.
“This village became a victim of Razakar brutality. Over 200 Hindus were made to stand in queue and ruthlessly killed,” he said.
The terror attack in Pahalgam was a crushing blow to India’s social harmony.
Noting that the conspiracy of Razakars was thwarted by the country’s first Union Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1948, he said Pakistan-sponsored terrorists and agents have been unsuccessful today.
Singh said his reference to Razakars was not about a specific community.
He cited the killing of journalist Shoaibullah Khan, who supported the merger of Hyderabad with India, as an example of Razakars’ enmity towards pro-India voices.
“That’s why, when we talk about Razakars, our intention is about a thinking that is against the soul of India, which does not accept the thinking of sarva dharma sama bhav “, he said.
September 17 is the day when Sardar Patel ensured the merger of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad into India, Singh added.
The date is a message to the enemies of India that they are destined to face defeat.
Singh claimed that due to “appeasement policies”, the previous governments did not celebrate Hyderabad Liberation Day.
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, Unio MoS (Home) Band Sanjay Kumar and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Earlier, Singh unfurled the National Flag and inspected the Parade of the central forces.
