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Time of India
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Rajiv Gandhi asked US for help? BJP MP cites declassified letter from ex-US President
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey has targeted Congress accusing it of "asking for help" from the United States for India-Pakistan truce in 1987. He made his claims on the basis of a declassified letter written by former US President Ronald Reagan in response to ex-PM Rajiv Gandhi . "It is not easy to be Gandhi. This letter is in reply to a letter written by US President Ronald Reagan to the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. When it was decided under the Shimla Agreement of 1972 that any dispute between India and Pakistan would be negotiated only between the two countries and there would be no mediator, why did the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ask for help from US President Reagan in negotiating with Pakistan?" Dubey said. The letter, however, does not indicate any formal intervention of the States in India-Pakistan ceasefire in 1987, but it does offer "some background" on procedures in effect between Eastern and Western Europe to "alleviate future tensions". "To help prevent similar unfortunate misunderstandings in the future, we have provided some background on procedures in effect between Eastern and Western Europe. We are offering both your government and that of Pakistan additional information that may help alleviate future tensions," it said. In fact, the letter clearly says: "Our purpose is not to be intrusive but to stress ways to improve relations and increase regional stability." However, the letter states that Rajiv Gandhi had proposed to involve American drug liaison agents in India-Pakistan bilateral consultations on narcotics control. "I (Ronald Reagan) was particularly interested in the proposal in your letter of January 7 that American drug liaison agents be associated with your bilateral narcotics consultations. I know combatting the evil of narcotics is as high a priority with you as with me, and I assure you we will be happy to assist in whatever ways you and the Government of Pakistan find helpful," it said. Dubey's claims come in response to the persistent attack by Congress after US President Donald Trump took credit for the truce reached between India and Pakistan after the two nations launched military operations against each other. The central government has, however, categorically said that the truce talks were completely bilateral in nature and denied any third party intervention.
Hindustan Times
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pakistan urges Trump to step in as peacemaker as tensions with India rise
Pakistan has reportedly urged the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to help defuse tensions with India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. In an interview with Newsweek magazine, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, called Kashmir the 'flashiest flashpoint" in global geopolitics and the root cause of tensions with India. Sheikh added that Donald Trump should intervene. 'If we have a president who is standing for peace in the world as a pronounced objective during this administration, to establish a legacy as a peacemaker — or as someone who finished wars, defied wars and played a role in de-confliction, resolving the disputes — I don't think there is any higher or flashier flash point, particularly in nuclear terms, as Kashmir," Newsweek quoted Sheikh as saying. "We are not talking about one or two countries in that neighbourhood who are nuclear capable. So, that is how grave it is," he added, referring to China, India and Pakistan. While India has always adhered to the Shimla Agreement of 1972, which stipulates that all issues between the two countries should be resolved bilaterally, Pakistan has time and again dragged one nation or the other to become a mediator in the Kashmir issue. Islamabad had also threatened to pull out of the Shimla agreement altogether after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack. Several Pakistani politicians have claimed that an Indian military action was 'imminent' and have been creating a hysteria of war for the past few days. A group of terrorists attacked tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam last week, killing 26 people, including 25 Indian nationals. Since then, tensions have been high between India and Pakistan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving the armed forces full operational freedom to choose the time, target and mode of the country's response. This comes after the union government put out several measures against Pakistan for its support of cross-border terrorism. Pakistan, in anticipation of an Indian military action, has deployed large numbers of troops along the LoC and the International border. Several Chinese howitzers, air defence systems are also said to be in place. It has also violated the ceasefire along the LoC for seven straight days till Thursday.
