Overview

• Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar told Al Jazeera that India never accepted third-party involvement and conveyed through Washington that the issue was strictly bilateral.
• Dar said a ceasefire offer was relayed via the United States in May, and he recounted that on July 25 Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed India’s stance remained bilateral.
• He has previously acknowledged that Pakistan requested the ceasefire after India’s Operation Sindoor strikes targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK.
• India has maintained the cessation of hostilities on May 10 resulted from DGMO-to-DGMO communication, rejecting any role for outside mediation.
• President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of brokering the truce are disputed, while Pakistan signals openness to comprehensive talks and India’s ruling BJP cites Dar’s remarks to rebut domestic critics.