"Pakistan wanted ceasefire out of fear": Prashant Kishor criticises government's cessation of hostilities decision

East Champaran (Bihar) [India], June 1 (ANI): Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor openly questioned the Indian government's decision to agree to a cessation of hostilities with Pakistan, suggesting it may have been a missed opportunity for the Indian Army to push its advantage further.
He said that Pakistan initiated the cessation, indicating that Pakistan was under pressure and fearful of defeat.
"I'm thinking, if Pakistan wanted a ceasefire, that means our army was doing a good job, we were defeating Pakistan. It must have been out of fear that Pakistan wanted a ceasefire. So if Pakistan wanted a ceasefire, why did we agree to it? The Army should have let it go on for two more days," he said during a press conference in East Champaran on Saturday.
He also praised External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, calling him "very educated and sensible." "Regarding the issue of the ceasefire, our country's EAM Jaishankar is a very educated and sensible person. I have great respect for him. I read his statement where he said the ceasefire was done at Pakistan's initiative," he added.
According to Kishor, the situation on the ground suggested that India's military was in control.
"That's exactly what our army personnel are saying, what the citizens of this country are saying, that during the fight, we had them on the back foot, sirens were going off, people were hiding, Pakistan was on the defensive, begging for a ceasefire."
Kishor was referring to External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar's comments in which he had said that it was the militaries of the two nations that negotiated directly and resolved the conflict through agreement and understanding for a cessation of fire and military action.
He went on to challenge claims made by foreign leaders about who led peace efforts.
"Although, Trump was being told something else, that we did it, we deserve a Nobel Peace Prize, we brought peace, we intimidated them. But why should we believe what Trump said? We will believe our own Foreign Minister."
On May 23, days after United States President Donald trump claimed that he played a role in settling the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated that it was the militaries of the two nations that negotiated directly.
In an interview with Danish media TV2 Channel, S Jaishankar said, "We resolved that conflict for the moment in its particular military form through agreement and understanding for a cessation of firing and military action. This was something that we negotiated directly between the militaries of the two countries. The trigger for it was that, after we had had fighting for a few days, we hit them very hard on a particular morning, the morning of the 10th, to be precise. That caused the Pakistanis to say, OK, you know, we're prepared to stop the firing and, you know, reach an understanding about how to deal with it,"
Prashant Kishor's statement comes ahead of the Bihar Assembly election to be held in October-Novembe this year wherein the NDA, which consists of the BJP, JD(U), and LJP, will be once again looking forward to returning to power. In contrast, the INDIA Bloc will be giving competition to the incumbent Nitish Kumar government. (ANI)