India considered launching military strikes against Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks but did not do so because of pressure from the international community, including the United States, and advice from top diplomats, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram told PTI on Monday.
The statement has invited criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which had itself come under criticism from the opposition, including Congress, after the Operation Sindoor ceasefire—a situation provoked by US President Donald Trump's assertion that he instructed Delhi and Islamabad to stop fighting, and they did so.
These events took place in the wake of simultaneous attacks by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, also the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack in April this year which left 175 dead.
Chidambaram, then Home Minister in Congress-led UPA government, informed a Hindi news channel, "the entire world fell on Delhi to tell us 'don't initiate a war'."
This included a dialogue with former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, which convinced the government against any armed reaction, he added.
"Two or three days after I had taken over (Condoleezza Rice had come) to see me and the Prime Minister (then, Dr Manmohan Singh). to tell us 'please don't react'. I told her this is a decision which the government will take. (But). an act of retribution did cross my mind."
Chidambaram also stated, "The Prime Minister debated this (retaliation by the military) even as the attack was in progress. and the decision, also partly under the influence of the Ministry of External Affairs and the IFS (Indian Foreign Service), was that we need not physically respond to the incident."
The comments were brought to fore by Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, who shared a clip from the interview on X, ridiculing the ex-Home Minister and his party. "After 17 years, Chidambaram, Ex-Home Minister confesses what the country knew - 26/11 mishandled because of foreign power pressure. Too little, too late."
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla followed up with a mention of ex-Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, questioning, "Why was the UPA taking directions from her? Why did she dominate the Home Minister?" He also questioned other UPA government decisions on Pakistan.
The BJP has always asserted that the May 10 ceasefire was a product of direct talks between Indian and Pakistani military commanders, and it was not imposed upon them by a third party, including America.
However, these words, including a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, have not stopped the US president from stating that he "sure as hell helped" broker an end to almost 100 hours of military hostilities.
Operation Sindoor was India's military retaliation against the Pahalgam terror attack. It consisted of targeted airstrikes against nine terrorist camps and bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan responded with missile and drone attacks, initiating a fierce bout of fighting—the first between the two countries since 1971.
Read also| PM Modi At Bihar Scheme Launch: ‘We Should Not Forget The Days When RJD Was In Power’
Read also| Tej Pratap Yadav Reveals Name and Symbol of His Party
