By Us President Donald
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AgenciesPakistan FM Ishaq Dar
Pakistan on Monday admitted that India has been stating disputes between the two countries are bilateral. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said, “India has categorically been stating it’s bilateral matter.”Dar said Pakistan did not object to bilateral talks but stressed they must address all issues. “Well we don’t mind but India has categorically been stating it’s bilateral so we don’t mind bilateral but the dialogues have to be comprehensive. It will have dialogue on terrorism, dialogue on trade, on economy, on Jammu and Kashmir, all these subjects which we both have been discussing with,” he said.Recalling events from May, Dar added, “So incidentally when the ceasefire offer came through secretary Rubio to me on 10th of May around 8:17 in the morning I was told that there would be very soon dialogue between you and India at an independent place. When we met 25th of July, a bilateral meeting myself with secretary Rubio in Washington, I asked him what happened to those dialogue. He says India says that it is a bilateral issue. We don’t, so we are not begging for anything.”The minister underlined Pakistan’s willingness but cautioned it could not impose talks.Live Events “If any country wants dialogue we are happy, we are welcome, we are peace-loving country, we believe that dialogue is the way forward. But obviously it takes two to tango, so unless India wishes to have dialogue we can’t force dialogue. We don’t wish to force dialogue,” Dar said.Pakistan echoes India, contradicts Trump’s claimsThis is the first time Pakistan has publicly aligned with India’s stance that disputes with Islamabad are strictly bilateral, ruling out any outside mediation. The statement directly contradicts repeated assertions by US President Donald Trump, who has claimed he played a decisive role in easing tensions between the two countries after the Pahalgam terror attack, and the events that followed the deadly massacre of April 22. Trump has often credited himself with “helping settle” the May 2025 conflict and preventing what he described as a “nuclear war,” even suggesting that US trade leverage pushed both sides toward de-escalation. India, however, has consistently denied any role by Washington. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have all underlined that the matter is bilateral and that New Delhi ended operations on its own terms once objectives were achieved. The government maintains that the ceasefire understanding was reached directly between Indian and Pakistani military officials, without Washington’s involvement.Current India-Pakistan stance & Operation SindoorAs of September 2025, India’s position is that any disputes with Pakistan must be dealt within a bilateral framework, with terrorism and cross-border attacks forming the core issues. India has been firm that external mediation isn’t part of its approach, insisting that its responses to terror threats be precise and measured. Operation Sindoor was launched by India in early May 2025 in retaliation for a terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, in which 26 civilians were killed. The strikes targeted nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir, including camps linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. India’s stated objectives for Operation Sindoor were to increase the cost to Pakistan for supporting terrorism, demonstrate India’s willingness to strike inside Pakistani territory if needed, and send a strong deterrent signal. The operation also reflects New Delhi’s policy shift toward responding forcefully to cross-border threats while rejecting the notion that threats or donor pressure should prevent military action.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
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Read More News onPakistan India relationsbilateral issuesdialogue between India and PakistanJammu and KashmirIshaq Darcomprehensive dialogueceasefire negotiationstrade and economy discussionsterrorism dialogue
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(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onPakistan India relationsbilateral issuesdialogue between India and PakistanJammu and KashmirIshaq Darcomprehensive dialogueceasefire negotiationstrade and economy discussionsterrorism dialogue(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online….moreless
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