Pakistan rejects Indian claims on ceasefire initiation

KARACHI: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday firmly rejected Indian media claims that Pakistan had requested a ceasefire following the Pakistan-India cross-border hostilities last month, reaffirming that Islamabad’s response was based on its sovereign right to self-defence and not a plea for de-escalation.

Responding to reports circulating in Indian media that claimed Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had ‘admitted’ on a TV show that Pakistan asked for a ceasefire, the Foreign Office issued a strongly worded statement clarifying the facts.

“We categorically reject claims that Pakistan sought a ceasefire following the Indian aggression. The deputy prime minister/foreign minister has, in his media interviews and statements, explained that Pakistan responded decisively to Indian aggression in exercise of its right to self-defence. Friendly states, including Saudi Arabia, and particularly the United States, played a crucial role in facilitating the ceasefire between Pakistan and India”, the statement read.

It added that the timeline of events leaves no ambiguity regarding who initiated the ceasefire proposal. “The sequence of events clearly demonstrates that Pakistan did not initiate or ask anyone for a ceasefire but agreed to it when around 0815am [on May 10], US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the DPM/FM, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, and informed that India is ready to ceasefire if Pakistan is willing. The DPM/FM confirmed Pakistan’s acceptance and later around 9am [the] Saudi FM Prince Faisal also called DPM/FM and informed the same about India and sought [the] same confirmation which Secretary of State Marco Rubio had sought earlier.”