In a sharp political escalation, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government of a “massive diplomatic failure” after a US congressional commission referred to the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack as an “insurgent attack” and suggested that Pakistan gained military advantage during Operation Sindoor.

Ramesh said the annual report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, submitted to the US Congress this week, contains shocking mischaracterisations of a terror strike carried out by Pakistan-backed militants. The 800-page document reportedly notes “Pakistan’s military success over India” in the four-day confrontation that followed.

Calling the findings “astonishing, unacceptable, and deeply damaging,” Ramesh targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly.

In a sharp post on X, he wrote: “The sections on pages 108-109 are beyond comprehension. The Commission describes the Pahalgam terror attack as an ‘insurgent attack’ and claims Pakistan’s military had an upper hand over India. How can the Modi government allow such distortions to go unchallenged?”
The Congress leader also reminded that former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he “halted Operation Sindoor,” yet PM Modi has maintained complete silence on the matter.

Ramesh demanded that the Ministry of External Affairs lodge a formal protest with Washington, warning that India’s diplomatic posture appears weak and reactive.

“Our diplomacy has suffered yet another severe setback,” he wrote, adding that the Modi government must clarify how a US congressional body could frame a Pakistan-orchestrated terror attack as a routine insurgency. The report also documents how China “opportunistically exploited” Pakistan’s crisis during the April conflict and expanded military coordination with Islamabad. It further states that Pakistan’s performance in the four-day standoff “showcased Chinese weaponry,” a claim India has strongly rejected in previous statements.