'Major Backward Step': Shashi Tharoor Says 'Trump's Post Disappointing For India In Four Important Ways'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Congress MP Shashi Tharoor explained on Monday how US President Donald Trump's post on India-Pakistan conflict "is disappointing for India in four important ways". Tharoor's remarks came days after Trump reiterated his claim that the US brokered a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan amid rising tensions.

In a long post on X, Tharoor said, "Trump's post is disappointing for India in four important ways." He then listed the four points. These were as follows:

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1. "First, it implies a false equivalence between the victim and the perpetrator, and seemingly overlooks the US' own past unwavering stance against Pakistan's well-documented links to cross-border terroris ."

2. "Second, it offers Pakistan a negotiating framework which it certainly has not earned. India will never negotiate with a terrorist gun pointed at its head."

3. "Third, it 'internationalises' the Kashmir disput , an obvious objective of the terrorists. India rejects the idea of a dispute and sees the problem as an internal affair of India's. India has never requested, not is likely to seek, any foreign country's mediation over its problems with Pakistan."

4. “And fourth, it 're-hyphenates' India and Pakistan i n the global imagination. For decades now, world leaders had been encouraged not to club their visits to India with visits to Pakistan, and starting with President Clinton in 2000, no US President had done so. This is a major backward step.”

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Trump's first post in India-Pakistan "ceasefire", which India called a "bilateral understanding ", came on Saturday (May 10), minutes before an official announcement by India and Pakistan.

His second post on May 11 again refered to the "ceasefire" and stated,“I am proud that the USA was able to help you arrive at this historic and heroic decision.”

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Later, minutes before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on Operation Sindoor , the US President reportedly said trade is a big reason why India and Pakistan stopped fighting.

"I said. Come on, we're going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let's stop it, let's stop it. If you stop it, we're doing trade. If you don't stop it, we're not going to do any trade," he said.

These comments by Trump prompted the Opposition Congress to question PM Modi.

Congress questions PM Modi

Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "We heard US President Donald Trump before PM Modi and that has disturbed every single Indian...When Donald Trump says that it was because of the threat of withdrawal of trade that we stopped, that comes as a very, very shocking declaration or announcement from Donald Trump."

"We expected the Prime Minister to respond to that and give a clarification to the nation. The hyphenation of Pakistan and India is unacceptable," Khera said.

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Earlier on May 11, Congress leader Sachin Pilot said at a press conference, "We were surprised by the fact that US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire, it has happened for the first time. What was written in that social media post is noteworthy. This is an attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue."

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