Cong flags US panel’s report terming Pahalgam massacre an ‘insurgent attack’, questions Centre’s silence

New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday flagged some ‘uncomforting and unsettling’ details from a US panel report, which describes Pahalgam terror attack as an ‘insurgent attack’ and slammed the Centre, calling it a severe setback to the Indian diplomacy.

The senior Congress leader shared the highlighted portion of US-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s annual report, submitted to US Congress recently, on his X account and stated that such distorted narrative is unacceptable to India.

Questioning the silence of Centre over the report, he asked, “Will the PM and the MEA register their objections and protest?”

He questioned whether the Centre would register a formal objection to what he termed “unacceptable” assertions about the April attack in which terrorists killed 26 innocent people, as well as Operation Sindoor, India’s military response to the terror attack.

The annual report, released on Tuesday, alleged that China had launched a “disinformation” campaign following Operation Sindoor, including circulating morphed images to target the Rafale fighter jet and “hinder” its global sales.

It further claimed, as a stated “fact”, that “only three jets flown by India’s military were reportedly downed and all may not have been Rafales”.

The report also carried a contentious reference claiming that “Pakistan’s military success over India in its four-day war showcased Chinese weaponry”.

Reacting to these remarks, Ramesh posted on X, saying, “The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission has just submitted its annual report to the US Congress. The Commission set up jointly by the US Senate and House of Representatives has twelve independent members. The 2025 Annual Report is almost 800 pages long. The sections on pages 108 and 109 are simply astonishing and beyond understanding. 1. It describes the Pahalgam terror attack of April 2025 orchestrated by Pakistan as an ‘insurgent attack’. 2. It speaks of ‘Pakistan’s military success over India’ in the four-day clash.”

Questioning the Indian government’s silence, he said, “President Trump has claimed 60 times (so far) that he had halted Operation Sindoor. The PM has kept completely quiet. Now comes this report of the US-China Economic and Security Commission of the US Congress that is simply unacceptable to India. Will the PM and the MEA register their objections and protest? Our diplomacy has suffered yet another severe setback.”

The US report had also noted, “In the weeks after the conflict, Chinese embassies hailed the successes of their systems in the India-Pakistan clash, seeking to bolster weapons sales. Pakistan’s use of Chinese weapons to down French Rafale fighter jets used by India also became a particular selling point for Chinese Embassy defence sales efforts, despite the fact that only three jets flown by India’s military were reportedly downed and all may not have been Rafales.”

India has repeatedly dismissed Pakistan’s claim of “downing six Indian jets”, while acknowledging that there were some “losses” during the successful Operation Sindoor.

IANS