New Delhi: Hours after India and Pakistan agreed to end military action, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi asked why the ceasefire was first announced by “the President of a foreign country”, instead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when India has always been opposed to outside mediation.
He was referring to the announcement made by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account. This was followed by a confirmation by Pakistan and then India.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2025
In a post on X, Owaisi further said, “As long as Pakistan uses its territory for terrorism against India, there can be no permanent peace. Ceasefire or no ceasefire, we must pursue the terrorists responsible for Pahalgam attack.”
As long as Pakistan uses its territory for terrorism against India, there can be no permanent peace. #Ceasefire or no ceasefire we must pursue the terrorists responsible for #Pahalgam attack.
I have always stood by the government & the armed forces against external aggression.…
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) May 10, 2025
Soon after the ceasefire was announced, drones were sighted and explosions heard in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Gujarat. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri later confirmed the “extremely condemnable” intrusions in a press conference.
In his post, shared in English, Hindi and Urdu, Owaisi listed a series of questions for the Modi government.
In his first point, he said he wished “our PM Narendra Modi had announced the ceasefire rather than the President of a foreign country” and asked why the ceasefire announcement was first made by Trump, without mentioning him by name, when India has “always been opposed to third-party intervention since Simla (1972). Why have we now accepted it?”
“I hope the Kashmir issue will not be internationalised, as it is our internal matter,” he added.
He further questioned why India had agreed to hold talks on “a neutral territory”. This appeared to be a reference to the ceasefire announcement made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which he said that India and Pakistan had also agreed to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site. However, this was not corroborated by India or Pakistan.
Over the past 48 hours, @VP Vance and I have engaged with senior Indian and Pakistani officials, including Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, and National Security Advisors Ajit…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 10, 2025
“What will be the agenda of these talks? Does the United States guarantee that Pakistan will not use its territory for terrorism?” Owaisi further said in his second point.
In the next point, the AIMIM chief asked “if India had achieved our aim of deterring Pakistan from carrying out future terror attacks.
“Was our goal to get a Trump-brokered ceasefire or was it to bring Pakistan to such a position that it would not even dream of another terror attack?”
Lastly, he said, “We must continue the international campaign to put Pakistan in the FATF grey list.”
“AI have always stood by the government & the armed forces against external aggression. This will continue,” Owaisi, who has supported the actions of the Modi government actions taken after the Pahalgam attack, also said in the post.
Earlier in the day, Owaisi had criticised the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for approving a $1 billion loan to Pakistan, calling it “a loan to a militant organisation”.
He also thanked the Indian armed forces for their “bravery and their commendable skill”, paid homage to jawan M. Murali Naik and additional deputy commissioner Raj Kumar Thapa, who were killed in Pakistani action, and said he prayed for all the civilians who were killed or injured during the conflict.
“I hope this ceasefire gives respite to the people living in border areas. I also hope that Indians and Indian political parties learn from the past two weeks: India is strong when it is united; our enemies benefit when Indians fight Indians,” he said on X.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
Also Read: India-Pakistan ceasefire: Fragile calm follows drone sightings, explosions in J&K, Punjab and Gujarat
