"India Has And Will Never Accept Mediation": PM Modi On Phone To Trump
India has never asked for, and will never accept, third-party mediation to resolve the issue of Pakistan's illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir - this was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unequivocal message to US President Donald Trump in a phone call late Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, briefing the press Wednesday morning about that phone call, said the topic came up after Mr Trump asked the Prime Minister for details about Operation Sindoor, India's successful military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
The PM told Mr Trump India's response had been "measured" and targeted only terrorist camps in Pak and Pak-occupied Kashmir. The PM also underlined India's position on third-party mediation - that it is neither wanted nor needed - and that this has always been the case.
The strong statement follows Mr Trump having repeatedly claimed credit for negotiating the Operation Sindoor ceasefire between India and Pakistan - something the Indian government has firmly denied - and offering his 'services' to negotiate a settlement for the J&K border issue too.
It also echoes Mr Modi's statement from May 12; the Prime Minister, in his first address to the nation after the Op Sindoor ceasefire, told Pakistan that there could be no talks over Jammu and Kashmir, except to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the region and return India's territory.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
2 minutes ago
- Indian Express
US team scraps visit, trade talks with India stuck on agri hurdle
The India-US negotiations for a trade deal, which began in February after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United States, have come to a halt, and the US negotiators' scheduled visit to India later this month stands cancelled, a source aware of the development told The Indian Express. The breakdown in trade talks assumes significance as US President Donald Trump has announced 50 per cent tariff on Indian products, the highest on any country globally. While 25 per cent tariff has already come into effect, government officials have said the levy of another 25 per cent – for Russia oil trade — could depend on 'how geopolitical events unfold'. The Indian Express had first reported on August 8 that the negotiations for a trade agreement had hit a pause, and the arrival of the US trade team was uncertain, as no formal communication had been received from their side. The deal has been stuck over India's long-standing stance of protecting farmers in every trade agreement. The US, under Trump, is prioritising market access for its agricultural products. In his Independence Day speech on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that India would not compromise on the well-being of its farmers, fisherfolk and cattle keepers, amid the standoff with the US over access for American products in India's agriculture and dairy market. On August 7, too, after Trump announced the additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, Modi had said that he would not compromise 'even if it entailed paying a very heavy personal price'. The geopolitical factor The uncertainty over when the tariffs on India could ease may drag on, as Trump's high-stakes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin did not result in a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire. However, Trump said he and Putin had made progress during the meeting in Alaska. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the secondary tariffs on India could increase if 'things don't go well' during the Trump-Putin talks. 'I think everyone has been frustrated with President Putin. We expected that he would come to the table in a more fulsome way. It looks like he may be ready to negotiate. And we put secondary tariffs on the Indians for buying Russian oil. I could see, if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,' Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg earlier.
Mint
2 minutes ago
- Mint
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit India next week for border talks; what's on the cards?
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be in India for a two-day visit on August 18 and August 19, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday. The top Chinese official will be in India to hold the 24th round of talks on the India-China border talk with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who is New Delhi's Special Representative of the matter. 'At the invitation of National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Doval, Member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China and Chinese Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Wang Yi will visit India on 18-19 August 2025. During his visit, he will hold the 24th round of the Special Representatives' (SR) Talks on the India-China boundary question with India's SR, NSA Shri Doval,' the MEA said in a statement on the day. 'EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar will hold a bilateral meeting with Mr. Wang Yi,' it added. Earlier in the day, China also confirmed its Foreign Minister's visit to India. Wang, along with NSA Doval, heads the Special Representatives dialogue mechanism aimed at addressing the vexed border dispute spanning the 3,488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC). Wang Yi's visit to India comes days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tour to China where he will attend the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit from August 31. India and China have been working to improve their relationship in recent months, marked by several significant developments. High-level talks between the two countries have resumed, including meetings between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, later this month. Moreover, India and China have agreed to disengage and resume patrolling in the Depsang Plains and Demchok areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This move aims to reduce tensions and restore peace along the border. Both the countries are bearing the heat of global trade and geopolitical turbulence triggered by US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz. Chinese and Indian officials have said in recent weeks that the two countries were discussing the resumption of border trade.
Mint
2 minutes ago
- Mint
Congress, BJP lock horns over NCERT's New 'Partition' module: What is it and why the clash? EXPLAINED in 5 points
Delhi: Sparks flew between Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday over NCERT's new Partition module, which squarely points fingers at the Grand Old Party, Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and India's last Viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, holding them responsible for the partition. While Congress fumed, demanding the module be scrapped—and even 'burnt'—the BJP shot back, and said that the "Rahul-Jinnah" party was upset about the truth coming out. NCERT's new modules about the India's Partition – one for the middle stage (Classes 6-8) and another for the secondary stage (Classes 9-12) – were released in August to mark Partition Remembrance Day. The material underscores that 'the Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan were by no means inevitable,' attributing responsibility to 'Jinnah, who demanded it; the Congress, which accepted it; and Mountbatten, who formalised and implemented it,' as per ANI. The secondary stage module notes, "None of the Indian leaders had experience in running national or even provincial administration, the army, police, etc. Hence, they had no idea of the massive problems that would naturally arise... Otherwise, such haste would not have been made." Congress leader Pawan Khera refuted the claims made in the book, further stating that the modules be 'burnt'. He further went on to say that 'if history has the biggest villain, it is the RSS," claiming that India's partition was because of the 'collaboration between the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League.' The BJP hit back at Congress for objecting to NCERT's new Partition module, accusing the opposition of being rattled because, as per him, the 'truth' has been brought out. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia labelled the Congress as 'Rahul-Jinnah party' and alleged that Rahul Gandhi's worldview mirrors that of Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, mentioned a report by news wire ANI. Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) member secretary, Dr Om Jee Upadhyay in a video statement said, '..Partition was not a normal incident, but it is one of the most tragic incidents of history where 1.5 crore people were forced to cross boundaries...12-15 lakh people were brutally new generation should know the truth so that they can learn from it and ensure that such incidents don't happen in the future...I do not think that there is any factual mistake in the modules and nobody has pointed out any factual mistakes," reported HT. Seventy-nine years ago, when Britain withdrew from the subcontinent, its colony, India, was split into two nations—India and Pakistan, with East Pakistan later emerging as Bangladesh. The event which came along with India's independence, on August 15, 1947, also unleashed one of the largest upheavals in history, forcing around 15 million people from their homes and leaving nearly a million dead in waves of communal violence.
