NEW DELHI, May 31: The Congress on Saturday demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on why he chose “trade” over the nation, after a top US administration official told a US Court that a trade deal was offered to broker the India-Pakistan ceasefire.
In a post on X, the party’s general secretary Randeep Surjewala said that while Trump has claimed 11 times that he “brokered the ceasefire” between India and Pakistan, Modi negated it not even once.
Now, documentary evidence in the form of an affidavit is also available, he said.
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The evidence was an affidavit US secretary of Commerce Howard W Lutnick filed in the US Court of International Trade.
“…This ceasefire was only achieved after President Trump interceded and offered both nations trading access with the United States to avert a full-scale war.
“An adverse ruling that constrains presidential power in this case could lead India and Pakistan to question the validity of President Trump’s offer, threatening the security of an entire region and the lives of millions,” a part of the affidavit read, Surjewala claimed.
He termed the excerpt an “official proof” of Trump’s claims, and asked a series of questions to the prime minister.
“Modi ji and BJP-NDA government must answer the following questions. Why did we permit U.S to broker a ‘ceasefire Agreement’, when our Armed Forces had a clear upper hand and Pakistan was cracking up? What is the ‘trade deal’ that U.S President offered and Modi Ji accepted?
“Is ‘trade’ more important than Nation? What are the terms of ceasefire? Where are the terrorists who killed 26 innocent people in Pahalgam? Will Pakistan hand them over to us so that we can hang them? Was it part of the ceasefire agreement?” the Congress leader asked.
“Will Pakistan hand over Pahalgam terror attack ‘mastermind’ and Laskar-e-Taiba Commander and terrorist, Saifullah Kasuri, who attended an anti-India Rally in Lahore on 29th May, 2025,” he said.
Surjewala also asked whether, as part of the ceasefire, Pakistan has agreed to proscribe or ban all anti-India terrorist groups.
And he named several outfits: Jaish-e- Muhammad (JeM), Jamaat-ul-Dawa (JuD), Tehreek-e-Azadi Jammu & Kashmir (TAJK), Hizb-ul-Muzahideen (HM), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuA, presently known as HuM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jammu & Kashmir National Liberation Army, Kashmir Jehad Force, Al Jehad Force, Jammu & Kashmir Students Liberation Front, and Tehrik-e-Hurriat-e-Kashmir.
The Congress leader also asked, now that there is supposedly a truce, whether Pakistan would shut down terror camps, hand over Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed, and Dawood Ibrahim to India.
“All patriots, all true nationalists, and the entire nation demand these answers,” he said.
According to para 18 of Lutnick’s affidavit, Trump brokered peace between India and Pakistan to avoid a full-scale war between the two nuclear nations.
“For example, India and Pakistan – two nuclear powers engaged in combat operations just 13 days ago – reached a tenuous ceasefire on May 10, 2025. This ceasefire was only achieved after President Trump interceded and offered both nations trading access with the United States to avert a full-scale war. An adverse ruling that constrains presidential power in this case could lead India and Pakistan to question the validity of President Trump’s offer, threatening the security of an entire region and the lives of millions,” it read. (PTI)
