'Pak did not get isolated as it had been after Mumbai attack': Congress jabs govt on Operation Sindoor anniversary

Jairam Ramesh said 'Indian embassy in Indonesia acknowledged that India had lost aircraft on May 7, 2025 because of the constraints laid down by its political leadership'

New Delhi: Taking a swipe at the government, the Congress on Thursday said that in spite of extensive diplomatic outreach by India following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan did not get isolated as it had been after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, and has come in for praise from the US military establishment.

On the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, the opposition party recalled that the first announcement of the ceasefire that halted the operation unexpectedly was made at 5:37 PM IST on May 10, 2025 by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "As we celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of Operation Sindoor and salute the achievements of our armed forces, it would be useful to recall the following: The first announcement of the cease fire that halted Operation Sindoor unexpectedly was made at 5:37 PM IST on May 10 2025 by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio who claimed that it was intervention by President Trump that had made this possible." "Subsequently, the US President has repeated this claim over a hundred times in different countries without ever having been refuted even once by his good friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Ramesh said on X.

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan made a statement in Singapore on May 30, 2025 where he had stated that India had suffered initial losses as a result of tactical errors but that after review and correction, India was able to understand the tactical mistakes and return with precision strikes deep inside Pakistan, demonstrating resilience and adaptability, Ramesh recalled.

On June 10, 2025, in a seminar in Jakarta, the Defence Attache in the Indian embassy in Indonesia acknowledged that India had lost aircraft on May 7, 2025 because of the constraints laid down by its political leadership, he said.

"The Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Rahul Singh made a statement on July 4 2025 that had drawn pointed attention to China's very deep role in Pakistan's response to Operation Sindoor providing - in addition to critical equipment and ammunition - live inputs including satellite imagery and real-time targeting support, he said.

"Yet, the Modi Government's calibrated capitulation to China continues unabated, including the loss of traditional patrolling rights in Ladakh, record Chinese imports, relaxation of FDI norms, etc.," Ramesh alleged.

"In spite of extensive diplomatic outreach by India, Pakistan did not get isolated as it had been following the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008. On the contrary, its army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has been embraced with extraordinary warmth by President Trump from June 2025 onwards and the world's leading sponsor of cross-border terrorism, namely Pakistan, has come in for praise from the US military establishment," the Congress leader said.

It also bears recall that just a few days after the Kargil War ended in July 1999, the Vajpayee government had set up a four-member Kargil Review Committee chaired by the country's strategic affairs guru K. Subrahmanyam, the father of the External Affairs Minister, to examine the sequence of events and recommendations for the future, Ramesh pointed out.

It submitted its report titled "From Surprise to Reckoning" on January 7, 2000. The report was tabled in Parliament on February 23, 2000, he said.

In response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year, carrying out airstrikes on nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The action triggered a rapid escalation in tensions with Pakistan launching retaliatory strikes, though most of them were thwarted by the Indian military.

The hostilities ended with an understanding on halting the military actions on May 10 following talks over the hotline between army officials of the two sides.