Modi’s Assertion of “Operation Sindoor” only “Paused” Kept Pakistan “Worried,” FARA Documents Show

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Jan 7: Documents filed by the US government under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) gives lies to Pakistan’s exaggerated claims and misinformation of having countered the “Operation Sindoor” on equal footings and rather have inflicted more damages to India than suffering loses in Indian strikes.

The documents also cast doubts about the repeated claims of the US president Donald Trump of having mediated between the two warring nation to bring an end to “Operation Sindoor” nor make any mention of India having requested his intervention at any stage of the conflict in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack killing 26 innocent tourists.

The documents showed that Pakistan ran to the US for help during Indian airstrikes on their airbases and terror camps. Even after the ceasefire on May 10, Islamabad was worried that Operation Sindoor was only “paused” and the attacks on Pakistani territory could resume. The May 7 strikes, which eliminated over 100 terrorists in Pakistani territory, led to a brief conflict between the two countries before May 10 ceasefire.

“We worry that PM Modi has said India has only paused its military action, and attacks on Pakistan could resume,” read the document that was distributed by Squire Patton Boggs, a Pakistani lobby firm, on behalf of Islamabad after Operation Sindoor. The document also exposed Pakistan’s false claim that India had sought a ceasefire during Operation Sindoor.

In reality, the request came from Pakistani commanders, who sensed the extent of damage on their side and were unable to afford more losses in a country out-powered by India’s military might. As a last resort, Islamabad sought US President Donald Trump’s help, out of fear that the attacks could resume, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting in May that “Operation Sindoor was merely suspended.”

“Should Pakistan dare again, it will face a fitting and formidable retaliation. Operation Sindoor remains active and resolute,” PM Modi had warned in a parliament speech later in July. Similar US documents had earlier exposed Pakistan’s extraordinary lobbying blitz in Washington. Pakistani diplomats and defence officials had sought over 50 meetings with American lawmakers and senior figures in the US administration.

A document has also confirmed that New Delhi never sought American mediation or raised the ceasefire issue in its official engagements with US, in contrast to President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions. Documents filed under FARA show no instance in which New Delhi sought American mediation or raised the issue of a ceasefire in its official engagements.

The three-page filing, available in the public domain, chronicles a dense calendar of calls, emails and meetings facilitated in Washington between April and December 2025 by SHW Partners LLC, a lobbying firm headed by Jason Miller, a former Trump adviser. The firm was engaged by the Indian Embassy, two days after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, to support routine diplomatic outreach, including preparations for high-level visits, trade negotiations and coordination with US agencies.

The entries reveal that India’s priorities during the period surrounding Operation Sindoor were sharply focused elsewhere: managing US media coverage of the operation, tracking the status of US-India trade talks, and arranging meetings for Indian parliamentary and ministerial delegations visiting the United States. Several entries also note the Indian Ambassador’s willingness to engage American media outlets. Nowhere do the records indicate a request for third-party intervention, mediation, or a ceasefire.

This paper trail sits uneasily alongside Trump’s public narrative. He has claimed more than 65 times that he personally mediated between New Delhi and Islamabad to secure a truce during Operation Sindoor. India has consistently rejected that version, maintaining that the cessation of hostilities followed a request from Pakistan’s military leadership through established military channels, not through any external broker.

Officials in New Delhi point out that the FARA filings describe a standard practice in Washington. “Lobbying is a legal and transparent process in the US, followed by most governments,” a senior government source said noting that decades of such disclosures are available on the US Justice Department’s website. “There is nothing clandestine here.”