India rejected 3rd party role. Pakistan punctures Trump's claims

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that India never agreed to any third-party mediation on issues between the two countries, directly undercutting US President Donald Trump’s claim that he had brokered a ceasefire in the wake of Operation Sindoor. Dar said in an interview with Al Jazeera, adding that while Pakistan is open to dialogue with India, New Delhi has not responded. "When the ceasefire offer came to me through Secretary Rubio on May 11 at 8.17 am, I was told that 'Very soon, there will be dialogue between you and India at an independent place'," he said. "When we met on 25 July, bilateral meeting (between) myself and Secretary Rubio in Washington, he said, 'India says it is bilateral'," the Pakistan minister added, indicating that US efforts at mediation had fallen through again.

Big Confession By Pakistan!

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar says India had denied any 3rd party mediation with Pakistan.

When Pak asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about 3rd party mediation with India as Trump claims, Rubio denied saying India says it's "Bilateral… pic.twitter.com/77PvyfbSK1

— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) September 16, 2025

Dar said Pakistan would not mind third party mediation "but India has categorically said it is bilateral". "So we don't mind bilateral but dialogues have to be comprehensive -- terrorism, trade, economy and Jammu and Kashmir," he added, admitting that Pakistan had knocked on the doors of "global capitals" during Operation Sindoor. "We must appreciate the very positive role US played during the India-Pakistan war. We never asked anybody for ceasefire. I talked almost 60 times to world global capitals before the 7th of May when we had the air battle and after 10th of May when we had the ground battle," he said.