No N-signal, Pak wasn't tipped off: Misri to panel

Foreign secretary Vikram Misri told a parliamentary panel on Monday that India's latest conflict with Pakistan was entirely in the conventional domain and involved no "nuclear signalling" from the other side, adding that military officials spoke to Islamabad only after Operation Sindoor had commenced, people aware of developments said.

- Saubhadra Chatterji

At a meeting of the parliamentary committee on external affairs, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, the foreign secretary also said that the offer for a ceasefire came from Pakistan and that no other country was involved in the negotiations, a senior lawmaker said.

He was asked by many parliamentarians about US President Donald Trump's claim that Washington had helped India and Pakistan "settle" the "problem".

"New Delhi had routine talks with the US but there was no mediation," Misri said, according to the lawmaker. He also found strong support from the lawmakers, over his family coming under attack on social media.

Some opposition MPs questioned Misri about a video in which Jaishankar could be heard as saying that India sent a message to Pakistan at the start of Operation Sindoor. Misri defended Jaishankar and said people "misunderstood the context", said a party functionary, asking not to be named. He told the panel that the Indian director general of military operations spoke to his Pakistani counterpart after Operation Sindoor commenced, said the functionary.

Misri's remarks came hours after Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched a fresh attack on external affairs minister S Jaishankar, saying the latter's silence on the number of aircraft India "lost" during the military action under Operation Sindoor was "damning".