Sachin Pilot interview: ‘Govt must clear the air on US claims on ceasefire, linking it to trade, putting Kashmir on table’

The brutal attack on innocent, helpless Indian tourists in Pahalgam took 26 lives and it brought the whole country together. People from all backgrounds, religions came out against the brutality engineered from across the border. The government got unprecedented, unwavering support from all quarters, political, non-political.

And I think the Armed Forces did a splendid job. They did not harm civilians, they did not attack Pakistani government installations, but only targeted proven infrastructure of terror being operated by the Pakistan state. Last I heard, Operation Sindoor is still very much in progress.

US President Donald Trump was the first to announce the ceasefire…

It was unprecedented. And I want to point out that in his comments, he (Trump) has spoken on ceasefire and Kashmir… It is most unfortunate that neither the US President nor the Secretary of State (Marco Rubio) or (Vice President) J D Vance have mentioned the word terrorism in their comments, they mentioned Kashmir.

The issue is not Kashmir, the issue is terror, the support that the terrorists get from the ISI and Pakistan army… I know there are multiple state actors in that country, but… the Americans have not said anything condemning the actions of harbouring terrorists, of innocent people being killed… Surprisingly, Kashmir has now become a point of discussion… that deserves clarification.

On Kashmir, for the longest time, our stated national policy has been that it is a bilateral issue. If there’s a change in that stand, we are definitely asking for the government to clear the stand.

Trump underlined trade in the context of the ceasefire…

It’s preposterous to think that a country like India could be brought to accepting or wanting a ceasefire because of the quantum of trade with Americans. It is absolutely unrelated.

But the Indian government needs to clarify because I’m sure when the US President is saying this… there must be some evidence… That deserves clarification.

We all know that what he said is factually incorrect in terms of history… And the timelines also are intriguing. Because three days into our operation, we announced a ceasefire. I hope all of our military objectives were met. But the attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue are unacceptable.

Rajasthan also shares a long border with Pakistan, which made several violations here.

Post the ceasefire announcement, there was heavy shelling that night. So, there is a violation of the ceasefire, which apparently the Pakistan DGMO sought from India. Where is the credibility from the Pakistani side?… What is the guarantee that in the months and years to come, they will not again use the IMF loan money or other resources to redevelop their terror camps and inflict further wounds on India?…

Pakistan asked for an impartial inquiry (into the 26/11 Mumbai attacks). Inquiry happened, we found out that (Ajmal) Kasab was from Pakistan, was monitored by Pakistan, and of course, proof was given at the world stage… Osama bin Laden was harboured by Pakistan near a military base where he was killed by the Americans. And Masood Azhar… there are a number of internationally recognised terrorists and terror organisations housed by Pakistan…

I hope that the government has got enough and satisfactory reasons to believe the ceasefire will hold. And not just a ceasefire, that further terror attacks on Indian soil won’t happen.

Why do you say that India and Pakistan have been hyphenated now?

You see, post-1990s, and after Dr Manmohan Singh and George Bush concluded the Indo-US 123 nuclear agreement, India was recognised as a de facto nuclear power, while Pakistan had A Q Khan and so on.

So, there was a sense (of de-hyphenation), and in real terms, because of our economy, our stand, our non-aggressive behaviour militarily… We want harmony and progress for our population. So, after a lot of work, we were able to achieve a de-hyphenation –  India was viewed as a different entity altogether…

But now when you look at the world, including most specifically the US, there is a concentrated effort to re-hyphenate India and Pakistan… And that’s not a good sign.

The Congress has called for an all-party meeting and a special Parliament session. Why?

Third-party mediation (on Kashmir) being offered time and again by the Americans is something that was never the stated policy of the Indian government, no matter who was in power. So these are all very, very important questions… Therefore, there must be a clarification, and we have said multiple times that there must be an all-party meeting, which the Prime Minister should attend…

Secondly, the Parliament session should be called because the world must see India as one country against terror, against Pakistan’s concept of terror. Our voice of unity must echo from the temple of democracy… We have our differences, and we’ll fight it out in elections. But for the sake of our integrity, security… a message should go… that India stands as one. There should be no ambiguity that Kashmir is not up for discussions by a third party.

Do you think the government could have done anything differently as regards Operation Sindoor?

It will always be Pakistan’s endeavour to spread misinformation, to try and take benefit from asymmetric warfare, to use propaganda. But we have to be clear. And I think the Armed Forces are very clear in what they have to achieve… And the Air Force says Operation Sindoor is still an operation. I respect the judgment of the IAF, they know best. So, they must decide what has to be done.

But from the government’s point of view, the only question that needs to be addressed is this American announcement, predating the announcement by India or Pakistan, bringing Kashmir on the discussion table, trade being seen as a carrot for us to come to a ceasefire… Seeking to ignore those statements or choosing not to answer those questions will not clarify, it will further muddle the situation. Because we are 1.4 billion people, we are one-sixth of humanity.

The government says it has been transparent about the ground realities.

In today’s world it is very difficult to keep things under wraps. And I think what the DGMO said in his press conference, and all the three senior officers of the tri-services, I fully trust what they say. I believe every word from the Indian Armed Forces…

So there’s no reason for us to believe anything different… They are very used to being transparent. And unlike Pakistan, the civil authorities here control our military action, there is a chain of command, unlike Pakistan…

Has the Indian government communicated its position to the world effectively?

Today is not the day for anyone to criticise anybody. That’s not my job… I can comment on only what is in the public domain…

And I think there is a requirement for an all-party meeting, the PM has to take the leaders into confidence, and discuss the future course…

The only thing that stands on record is a resolution in 1994 by the then Congress government, passed unanimously in the Parliament, that we must take PoK back. And I feel time has come to once again pass a resolution so that the Europeans and the Americans are not confused about what needs to be discussed, which is how to bring those people to justice, how to make sure that there is no future terror activity by the Pakistan state.

Congress leaders, including you, have been invoking Indira Gandhi.

We must not forget that there was a time when then American president Richard Nixon threatened to send the 7th fleet to the Bay of Bengal. And then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi – and remember, we were a much weaker country militarily, economically, and perhaps even internationally – stood our ground and we achieved the objective we started out with, which was to create a new country called Bangladesh.

It’s important to remember leaders in the past who have done great service to the country… And Indira Gandhi ultimately lost her life to terrorists because she was taking a strong stand against terrorism in Punjab.