Islamabad: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has admitted that India never agreed to any third-party mediation on issues between the two countries, undercutting claims that the US had brokered a ceasefire in the wake of Operation Sindoor.
"India never agreed to any third-party mediation," Dar said in an interview with Al Jazeera, adding that while Pakistan is open to dialogue with India, New Delhi has not responded.
Dar's response came when asked, "Any negotiations happening with India? Is there any third-party involved? Are you open to third-party involvement?" To this, Dar replied, "We don't mind third-party involvement, but India has categorically been stating it's a bilateral matter. We don't mind bilateral, but the dialogues have to be comprehensive, on terrorism, trade, economy, Jammu and Kashmir, all subjects that we have discussed earlier."
Dar further revealed that when Pakistan asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Trump’s mediation claim, he categorically clarified that India has always 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 that it is a bilateral issue," he said, adding that while Pakistan wants to have a dialogue, it is not possible unless India wishes to do so.
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Op Sindoor | Jaish admits Masood Azhar's family 'torn into pieces' Terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad has, for the first time, admitted that family members of its chief, Masood Azhar, were killed during India's strike in Bahawalpur as part of its Operation Sindoor. In a video that has gone viral, a top Jaish commander, Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, flanked by security personnel, is seen acknowledging the losses suffered by the terror outfit. Kashmiri said Azhar's family had been "torn into pieces" in the May 7 attack on Jaish headquarters – Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur. In the strike on Bahawalpur, the 12th largest city in Pakistan, located 400 km from Lahore, 10 of Azhar's relatives were among those killed. It included his sister, her husband, his nephew, his niece, and children from his extended family. Four of Azhar's aides were also killed in the pre-dawn attack. |
