 "Cornered and battered, Pakistan banks on Trump to ‘arrange’ talks with India post-Op Sindoor")
After suffering a beating in Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has sought US President Donald Trump’s help in arranging talks with India.
After Trump falsely claimed credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire, Pakistani leaders have launched a full-scale drive to appease the US president. While Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made appeals at the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari amplified the appeal in Washington DC.
In addition to appeals to Trump, Pakistani leaders have also continued their disinformation campaign about the Pahalgam attack, with Shehbaz saying at the US Embassy event that the attack was a false-flag operation by India.
In response to the Pahalgam attack on April 22, India on the night of May 6 launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ under which it struck terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK). After Pakistan attacked Indian cities and military bases, India began striking Pakistani military sites, including more than a dozen airbases, radar sites, and air defence units. After four days of beating, Pakistan requested a ceasefire on May 10 and India granted the request.
Bilawal, a coalition partner of Shehbaz and a former foreign minister, is currently on a visit to the United States where he is a leading a high-level delegation as part of an outreach in the wake of the last month’s conflict. It comes after India dispatched all-party delegations to various countries to convey India’s message about terrorism, the Pahalgam attack, and Operation Sindoor.
Trump should arrange ‘comprehensive dialogue’ with India, says Bilawal
In an interaction with journalists in Washington DC, Bilawal said that Pakistan wants Trump to arrange “comprehensive dialogue” with India.
“On 10 different occasions, he [Trump] has taken credit for facilitating the ceasefire between India and Pakistan — and rightly so. He deserves that credit, because it was his efforts that helped make the ceasefire possible. So, if the US is willing to help Pakistan in maintaining this ceasefire, it is reasonable to expect that an American role in arranging a comprehensive dialogue would also be beneficial for us,” said Bilawal, according to Dawn.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsMocking India’s centrality in the Indian Ocean Region and role in the Indo-Pacific region, where India looks at itself as a net security provider, Bilawal said that India was not even a “paperweight” and should not at all be considered a counterweight to China.
On his part, Shehbaz said that Trump is “a man for peace”.
“President Trump is a man against escalation and a man against cold and hot war,” Shehbaz further said.
Separately, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that dialogue should India be on all issues and not just on terrorism as India maintains.
Dar said that dialogue should cover issues like terrorism, the Indus Waters Treaty, and broader bilateral issues, according to Dawn.
“Whenever they [Indians] want a dialogue, at any level, they will find us ready, but we are not desperate,” said Dar.
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