Pakistan Deputy PM admits they requested for ceasefire after Indian air strikes

Contrary to its earlier claims, Pakistan has now finally admitted that it reached out to India for a ceasefire, after New Delhi conducted precision strikes on two Pakistani air bases in Rawalpindi and Punjab province, following Islamabad’s retaliatory move in the wake of Operation Sindoor.

What Pak deputy PM said

The revelation was made by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar during a recent TV show, where he said that the Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi and the Shorkot air base in Punjab province were struck by India. It was at this point that Pakistan reached out to the US, urging its intervention and also sought assistance from Saudi Arabia.

Dar said that India “unfortunately” launched missile strikes again at 2.30 am, attacking the Nur Khan and Shorkot air bases. He also said that within “45 minutes” of the attacks, he got a call from Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal.

Also Read: Trump says India, Pakistan leaders decided to end conflict, a first in weeks

'Saudi prince spoke to Jaishankar'

According to an NDTV report, Faisal asked Dar whether he was authorised to talk to India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, to which Dar agreed.

“I said yes, brother, you can. He then called me back, saying he had conveyed the same to Jaishankar," said Dar.

While India has consistently denied the involvement of any other country in the ceasefire agreement with Pakistan after the two nuclear-armed neighbours traded air strikes following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan had thanked the US for its mediation.

Interestingly, it was US President Donald Trump who suddenly announced that India and Pakistan had reached a ceasefire agreement following mediation efforts by his administration.

Also Read: After phone call with Modi, Trump repeats claim he stopped India-Pakistan war

'Will never accept mediation'

However, New Delhi has never agreed to the claims made by Trump and stated that the ceasefire agreement was reached after the Pakistani Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to its Indian counterpart.

Trump, however, has continued to take credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire. Recently, in a significant development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Trump that India never did and will never accept any mediation about ties with Pakistan.