Pak minister Ishaq Dar confirms India's stance against third-party mediation, recalls conversation with Marco Rubio

Pakistan foreign minister and deputy PM Ishaq Dar has revealed that US secretary of state Marco Rubio told him during the military conflict in May that India will not settle for third-party mediation for ceasefire since it was a bilateral issue between two countries.

In an interview to Al Jazeera, Dar said that when he asked Rubio about third party mediation with India during the military conflict, the US official told him that New Delhi has refused the same since it is a bilateral matter.

"We don't mind (third party mediation) ... but India has categorically been stating that it's a bilateral (issue). We don't mind bilateral. When we met on July 25 with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, I asked him what happened to the dialogue, he said that India says it's a bilateral issue," Dar said when asked whether Pakistan is open to third-party involvement between the two countries.

The Pakistan minister added that Islamabad is open to bilateral dialogue but will not "beg" for talks.

"We are not begging for anything. If any country wants dialogue, we are happy. We welcome (it). We are a peace-loving country. We believe that dialogue is the way forward. Obviously, it takes two to tango. Unless India wishes to have dialogue, we cannot force it," Dar said.

Dar's remarks vindicate India's stand that it never accepted third-party mediation during Operation Sindoor, and that the ceasefire decision was reached after direct talks between the militaries of both the countries.

Pakistan ministers have seized on US President Donald Trump's claims that American mediation led to the ceasefire understanding on May 10. India has categorically rejected these claims with PM Modi himself telling Trump during a phone call in June that the ceasefire understanding was reached between the two countries directly.

PM Modi has also made it clear that direct talks with Pakistan, if at all, will only be on Pakistan occupied Kashmir or terrorism. He added that "blood and water cannot flow together", signalling that New Delhi will not engage with Islamabad until it stops giving shelter to terrorist organisations.