Rebuff to ‘self-styled Vishwaguru’, says Congress, on reports of Pakistan mediating in West Asia

The Congress on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, said that if reports of Pakistan being one of the intermediaries between the US-Israel and Iran are true, they amount to a “serious setback” and “setback” for India.

The opposition party claimed that despite India’s undoubted military successes in Operation Sindoor, the harsh reality was that Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement and narrative management thereafter were “markedly superior to that of the Modi government”.

Jairam Ramesh, Congressional secretary general for communications, said multiple reports in leading international media outlets have identified Pakistan as one of the intermediaries used between the US and Israel on the one hand and Iran on the other.

Mr. Ramesh said in

“Over a year on, despite our undoubted military successes in Operation Sindoor, the harsh reality is that from now on, it is very clear that Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement and narrative management are markedly superior to that of the Modi government,” he said.

Mr. Ramesh said that Pakistan, which is in an extremely unstable situation politically, socially, economically and globally, has got a new lease of life.

“President Trump warmly and repeatedly embraced the man whose incendiary and provocative rhetoric formed the background of the Pahalgam terror attacks of April 22, 2025, and hosted Field Marshall Asim Munir twice (including for an unprecedented lunch) at the White House. The Pakistani establishment has developed a cordial relationship with President Trump’s inner circle.”

“Mr Modi’s ill-advised visit to Israel, which ended just two days before the unprovoked US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran began, will go down in our political history as a disastrous choice – one that forced us to retreat from a position where we could and should have mediated,” the Congress leader said.

The Prime Minister’s “hugliness” was brutally exposed, he said, adding that the country had to pay a price for it.

On Monday, March 23, 2026, President Donald Trump said the United States had spoken with a respected Iranian leader and claimed the Islamic Republic was willing to make a deal to end the war. But Mr. Trump refused to name the Iranian leader with whom the United States has been meeting to end the three-week war, arguing that the interlocutor was a senior figure most respected in this country.

Speaking to reporters at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, Mr. Trump made clear that the United States was not in talks with the second Supreme Leader, referring to Ayatollah Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei.

According to the information obtained, Iran denied that it was in talks with the USA, but admitted that some countries in the region were making efforts to reduce tensions.

axios The news site quoted a US source as saying that Türkiye, Egypt and Pakistan had been exchanging messages between the US and Iran for the last two days.

A US source said the Foreign Ministers of the three countries had separate meetings with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. axios.

The President said that US Special Representative for West Asia Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with their Iranian counterparts on Sunday, March 22, 2026.

But Mr. Trump refused to say who Mr. Witkoff was talking to and said he did not want them killed.