Senior Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday strongly criticised US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks offering to mediate on the Kashmir issue following the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan. Sibal said that the post raises “many questions” and reflects the absence of transparency in the Indian government’s communication with the opposition.
Speaking to reporters, Sibal said, “Many questions will be raised on this tweet as well… What happened, how and why—no information has been provided to the opposition. We are not criticising today, but we demand that a special session of Parliament and an all-party meeting be called immediately.”
He further urged that such a meeting must be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, adding, “I appeal to all parties to refrain from attending unless the Prime Minister is present. I am confident that had Dr Manmohan Singh been the Prime Minister today, he would have convened a special session and led the discussions personally.”
Sibal’s remarks came in response to a post by President Trump on Truth Social, where he claimed credit for helping facilitate peace between India and Pakistan, and reiterated an offer to mediate a solution on Kashmir—describing it as a conflict stretching back “a thousand years.”
Congress MP Manish Tewari also pushed back on that characterization, stating that Kashmir is not an ancient or biblical conflict but one that began in 1947 when Pakistan invaded the then-independent state of Jammu and Kashmir, which later acceded fully to India.
Adding to the chorus, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh demanded a PM-led all-party meeting and a special Parliament session to address issues surrounding the Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor, and the recently announced cessation of hostilities. Ramesh also questioned whether recent developments signal a shift away from the bilateral framework established by the Shimla Agreement.
India has repeatedly rejected third-party intervention in Kashmir, maintaining that the region is an internal matter and an integral part of the country. The government clarified that the ceasefire understanding was reached directly between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan, without any foreign mediation.
