Congress MP Manish Tewari on Sunday slammed US President Donald Trump’s remarks on the Kashmir issue, urging that the American establishment “educate” him on the historical background of the conflict. Tewari dismissed Trump’s assertion that the Kashmir dispute was a 'biblical 1000-year-old conflict'
“Someone in the US establishment needs to seriously educate their President Donald Trump that Kashmir is not a biblical 1000-year-old conflict. It started on October 22, 1947 — 78 years ago — when Pakistan invaded the Independent State of Jammu & Kashmir, which subsequently was ceded to India in full by Maharaja Hari Singh on October 26, 1947, including areas still illegally occupied by Pakistan. How difficult is it to grasp this simple fact?” Tewari posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The remarks came in response to Trump’s comments on Saturday, where he claimed that the recent ceasefire understanding between India and Pakistan was the result of US-mediated talks. India, however, rebutted the claim, stating that it was Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) who reached out to his Indian counterpart, initiating the dialogue that led to the cessation of hostilities.
Taking to his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, “I am very proud of the strong and unwaveringly powerful leadership of India and Pakistan… Millions of good and innocent people could have died! Your legacy is greatly enhanced by your brave actions. I am proud that the USA was able to help you arrive at this historic and heroic decision… I will work with you both to see if, after a ‘thousand years,’ a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir.”
Congress MP and party general secretary Jairam Ramesh also raised concerns over what he called a shift in India's diplomatic stance and posed several questions to the government, including whether New Delhi has opened the doors to third party intervention between India and Pakistan.
His remarks came after India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
In a post on X, he said, "The Indian National Congress reiterates its demand for an all-party meet chaired by the PM and for a special session of Parliament for a full discussion on Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor, and the ceasefire announcements made from Washington DC first and then subsequently by the Governments of India and Pakistan".
Ramesh said the Congress considers that the mention of "neutral site" by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for dialogue between India and Pakistan raises many questions.
"Have we abandoned the Simla Agreement? Have we opened the doors to third-party mediation?" he asked "The Indian National Congress would like to ask if diplomatic channels between India and Pakistan are being reopened? What commitments have we sought and got?," he asked.
