India recoils as Trump takes credit for halting war with Pakistan

India’s refusal to acknowledge US role in ceasefire deal unsettles many in India’s strategic and political circles

When U.S. President Donald Trump announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire after days of missile strikes and drone attacks, the contrast in response from both sides was striking.

While New Delhi maintained a stony silence on Washington’s involvement, Islamabad rolled out the red carpet for U.S. President Donald Trump.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appeared on national television shortly after the ceasefire announcement to publicly thank Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President J.D. Vance for what he called their “proactive role” in facilitating peace. He hailed their “valuable contributions to peace in South Asia,” and even credited the U.S. for preventing further escalation.

Silence from India

India, however, refrained from any acknowledgment of American involvement.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters the ceasefire followed a hotline call initiated by Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), during which both sides agreed to “stop all firing and military action.” No mention was made of the U.S.

This silence has unsettled many in India’s strategic and political circles.

A war or a military confrontation which starts with the express intention and, we are told, visionary leadership and decision-making of Prime Minister Modi cannot end on the basis of a DGMO—who is really quite low down the military food chain—deciding that this conflict has to end,” said Sidharth Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire, an independent media outlet recently blocked and then unblocked in India.