The Congress on Sunday (May 11, 2025) asked the government to clarify whether it had accepted third party mediation on Kashmir, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that India and Pakistan agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire”, which had preceded any such declaration from either country. The party also criticised attempts to “internationalise” the issue.

The Congress also demanded a Special Session of Parliament where the House’s 1994 resolution to take back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) should be reiterated. The Congress also compared the current situation to the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War under the leadership of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Mr. Trump’s announcement preceded the formal announcement by the two countries. After Mr. Trump’s post on X, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced that India and Pakistan had reached an understanding to stop all firing and military action on land, air and sea with immediate effect.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters, party general secretary Sachin Pilot said the “ceasefire” statement was a surprise to all as this was the first time a third country had made announcements on behalf of India and Pakistan and questioned the U.S.’s bid to “hyphenate” the two countries.

“An attempt was made to internationalise the issues between India and Pakistan. This is the first time this has happened,” he said, asserting that the government must issue a clarification while taking the nation and all parties into confidence.

“On what conditions the ceasefire has been declared and what is the guarantee that such things would not be repeated, as there is no credibility left after yesterday’s events (violations). How can we believe them and what is the guarantee that such developments will not happen again,” Mr. Pilot asked.

Also read: India-Pakistan ceasefire updates on May 11, 2025

The Congress leader said one must also pay heed to what U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his social media posts, where he made statements on Kashmir, on which the government should spell out its stand.

“Kashmir is a bilateral issue and the attempt to internationalise it, I feel, is not proper. In 1994, the Parliament had passed a unanimous resolution to take back PoK. It is time to repeat it,” he said, adding that a message that the entire country is united should go across the entire world.

“It should be stated clearly that it is a bilateral issue and no country, including America, should have space to intervene,” Mr. Pilot said, adding that India’s stated foreign policy was very clear on areas where there was no scope for mediation.

Mr. Pilot said that the Government of India received unprecedented support from all parties and people in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should convene an all-party meeting to clarify on all these issues, he added.

He further recalled that during the 1971 War, when America had said they were deploying their seventh fleet in the Bay of Bengal, the then government led by Indira Gandhi went ahead and did what was in the supreme national interest. “We remember that government when national interest was supreme.”

The party’s general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh also posted on X, “The Nixon-Kissinger duo sent a nuclear-powered and nuclear-weapon capable U.S. naval task force of its Seventh Fleet led by the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise into the Bay of Bengal. Indira Gandhi was undeterred. Pakistan surrendered on Dec 16th, 1971.”