‘We worry India has only paused military action, attacks could resume’: Pakistan told US after Operation Sindoor

Army jawans petroll along the line of control (LoC) ahead of Independence Day in Uri sector of Baramulla District of North Kashmir on Tuesday, August 12, 2025.

US government filings reveal Pakistan secretly sought US help during India’s Operation Sindoor, fearing renewed strikes after Indian attacks on terror camps. Despite public defiance, Pakistan pushed for de-escalation and misrepresented ceasefire talks.

Did our AI summary help?

Fresh US government filings have laid bare Pakistan’s panic during India’s Operation Sindoor, exposing how Islamabad quietly rushed to Washington for help even as it publicly projected defiance. Documents filed under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act show that Pakistan feared India’s military offensive was only “paused” and that strikes on Pakistani territory could resume at any moment.

The disclosure punctures Pakistan’s carefully crafted narrative during the May conflict, revealing deep anxiety within its establishment as Indian airstrikes hit terror camps and military infrastructure across the border. Operation Sindoor was launched by India to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 civilians were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

According to the FARA filing accessed by NDTV, Pakistan’s concern was bluntly spelled out in a document circulated by the lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs on behalf of Islamabad after the Indian strikes. “We worry that PM Modi has said India has only paused its military action, and attacks on Pakistan could resume,” the document stated.

ALSO READ | Pakistan’s lobbying playbook: How Trump’s ex-doctor Ronny Jackson helped Islamabad clinch $500 million mining deal during Op Sindoor

The fear was not unfounded. On May 7, Indian forces carried out precision strikes inside Pakistani territory, eliminating more than 100 terrorists. The strikes triggered a brief but intense military confrontation before a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Indian officials have consistently maintained that the operation was suspended, not concluded.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made that position unmistakably clear weeks later. “Operation Sindoor was merely suspended,” he said in May, warning Pakistan against further provocation. In a speech in Parliament in July, he reinforced the message. “Should Pakistan dare again, it will face a fitting and formidable retaliation. Operation Sindoor remains active and resolute,” Modi said.

The FARA filing also exposes Pakistan’s false claim that India had sought a ceasefire. Islamabad had attempted to portray itself as the victim of Indian aggression, suggesting New Delhi reached out first to halt hostilities. The documents show the opposite.

In reality, it was Pakistani military commanders who pushed for de-escalation after assessing the damage inflicted by Indian strikes and recognising that they could not sustain further losses against a far superior Indian military. Unable to absorb more blows, Pakistan turned to Washington as a last resort.

The filings show that Islamabad sought the intervention of US President Donald Trump, fearing that Indian attacks could resume if diplomatic pressure was not applied. This directly contradicts Trump’s repeated public claims that India had sought American mediation during the conflict.

Separate US documents have already confirmed that New Delhi never raised the issue of a ceasefire or mediation in its official engagements with Washington. Despite this, Trump has continued to assert that the United States played a central role in stopping the fighting, a claim India has categorically rejected.

The revelations fit into a broader pattern of Pakistani duplicity during Operation Sindoor. Earlier FARA disclosures showed an extraordinary lobbying blitz by Islamabad in Washington. Pakistani diplomats and defence officials pursued more than 60 interactions with US lawmakers and senior administration figures in a frantic effort to “somehow stop” India’s military operation, according to filings cited by Moneycontrol.

Another set of documents detailed how Pakistan leveraged Trump’s inner circle, including his former personal physician Ronny Jackson, to push strategic and commercial interests during the same period. Together, the filings paint a picture of a state scrambling behind the scenes while peddling misinformation in public.

While Pakistan publicly denied damage and boasted of resilience, the documents tell a different story. They reveal a leadership rattled by Indian military resolve, worried that Operation Sindoor could resume at any time, and desperate for American intervention to shield it from further punishment.