Did India ask US to mediate after Operation Sindoor? Will Donald Trump force India to talk to Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir?

Did India ask the US to mediate after Operation Sindoor? Has Pakistan succeeded in bringing the issue of Jammu and Kashmir back to the world stage? Will US President Donald Trump now force India to join Pakistan at the negotiation table and mediate in the talks? These questions have propped up after Trump claimed that he had mediated and forced the two countries to agree to a ceasefire. India has always maintained that the Jammu and Kashmir question is a bilateral issue and there is no scope for third-party mediation, while Pakistan has always tried to raise the issue at the international fora. 

Did Donald Trump write to PM Narendra Modi?

Calling it a "very unfortunate way of proceeding", Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told NDTV that Trump first announced the ceasefire in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said, "I think that's a very unfortunate way of proceeding. I have certainly never seen anything like that in international diplomacy." 

The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who served at the UN before joining politics, said, "Let me be blunt about it...Jaishankar spoke to Secretary Rubio. Then he (Rubio) spoke with the foreign minister of Pakistan. These kinds of contacts were going on throughout these three or four days of the conflict. But that doesn't mean that India was requesting mediation."

What did Donald Trump say?

This confirms what Donald Trump has said. Taking to Truth Social, he wrote in a post on social media platform, "After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Congratulations to both countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter." Moving one step forward, the US president said a day later that he would work with the two neighbouring countries to find a solution to the Kashmir issue. 

(Donald Trump's post on Truth Social)

Will US mediate on Kashmir issue?

He wrote on Truth Social, "I will work with you both to see if, after a "thousand years,' a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir. God Bless the leadership of India and Pakistan on a job well done!!!" The alarm bell has been set ringing for India. Donald Trump also offered to mediate in the Jammu and Kashmir issue in his first term of presidency. 

According to US Department of State Spokesperson Tammy Bruce, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Sunday and discussed the India-Pakistan issue. A day earlier on Saturday, Rubio dialed Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar. Confirming the talks, Jaishankar said, "Had a conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this morning. India's approach has always been measured and responsible and remains so. 

(United Nations Security Council meeting)

Will Pakistan demand referendum in Jammu and Kashmir?

After this, the million-dollar question is: will the US force India to begin talks on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, and will it mediate in the talks, contrary to what New Delhi has been maintaining since the Shimla Agreement of 1972? If it happens so, how will India counter Pakistan's old demand of holding a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir in light of the UN Resolution? 

Earlier, the Narendra Modi government had said that the only point on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir to be discussed was the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. While speaking at a session at the Chatham House think tank in London in March this year, Jaishankar said that the decades-long Kashmir dispute would be solved following the “return of the stolen part of Kashmir." Referring to the PoK, he said, "I think the part we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir, which is under illegal Pakistani occupation; when that is done, I assure you Kashmir will be solved."

Will India raise this point at the negotiation table? However, Islamabad has succeeded in bringing the Kashmir problem back to the world forum, much to the chagrin of India.