NEW DELHI: Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday raised a series of questions regarding the recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan, expressing concern over its sudden announcement, the role of the United States, and the implications of recent statements made by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan.“Questions are arising every day, the biggest of them is Donald Trump’s claims. We also want to know the conditions of the ceasefire, why was it so sudden and announced by the US President?” Khera told ANI. “The CDS’ statements again raise many questions. The government needs to come forward… The country needs to know our defence preparedness.”Khera’s remarks came after US President Donald Trump, on Friday (local time), claimed credit for brokering the ceasefire, asserting that trade negotiations led by his administration helped prevent a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was proud to have achieved peace through trade diplomacy instead of military conflict, reigniting debate over the US role in halting hostilities.
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The ceasefire followed a period of heightened tension after the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s military retaliation through Operation Sindoor.Adding to the opposition’s concerns, CDS Gen Anil Chauhan, in an interview with Reuters at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, acknowledged that the Indian Armed Forces suffered losses in the early stages of the operation. “So what I can say is, on May 7 and the initial stages, there were losses, but the numbers, that’s not important. What was important is why did these losses occur, and what will we do after that? So we rectified the tactics and then went back on seventh, eighth and 10th, and 10th in large numbers, to hit their bases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their defences with impunity, with scattered opposition strikes,” Gen Chauhan said.On May 11, Director General Air Operations Air Marshal Bharti, when asked about aircraft losses, said, “I can’t comment about loss of aircraft as we are in a combat scenario and losses are part of combat.”Citing these developments, Khera reiterated the Congress party’s longstanding demand for a special session of Parliament to discuss the ceasefire and national security. “It was called during the war of 1962, but it’s astonishing that now, even after the war has ended, there has been no Parliament session,” he said.Earlier in the day, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh echoed Khera’s demand and criticised the government for not briefing opposition leaders properly. Referring to Gen Chauhan’s comments from Singapore, Ramesh said, “It would have been better that what he has spoken, the Defence Minister should have said in the two all-party meetings he had chaired… Whatever Gen Chauhan has said, this information should have been shared with the opposition leaders, and a special session of the Parliament should have been convened. We had to wait for General Chauhan to make these revelations from Singapore.”
