India on Wednesday welcomed the ceasefire announced by the US and Iran but steered clear of saying anything on Pakistan's role in the whole process and whether Islamabad emerging as a "peace-maker" was a setback to the work done by New Delhi and other capitals to portray Pakistan as a bad actor for sponsoring terrorism.
In a statement on the recent development in West Asia, the external affairs ministry said: "We welcome the ceasefire reached and hope that it will lead to a lasting peace in West Asia. As we have continuously advocated earlier, de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy are essential to bring an early end to the ongoing conflict.
"The conflict has already caused immense suffering to people and disrupted global energy supply and trade networks. We expect that unimpeded freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce would prevail through the Strait of Hormuz."
Later, repeating this statement at the inter-ministerial briefing on West Asia, ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal added: "We welcome all steps that lead to peace and stability. We hope that this development in West Asia will also encourage peace efforts in Ukraine."
Asked for a response on Pakistan emerging as a peacemaker and whether it is a setback to the effort put in by India and several other countries to make Islamabad look like a bad actor, Jaiswal responded: "I am here to communicate India's position. As to the position of other countries, it is best left to them to speak about it."
Pakistan's role in getting the two sides to agree to an eleventh-hour ceasefire has been acknowledged by both the US and Iran. US President Donald Trump, in a statement, said he agreed to the request made by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir to "hold off the destructive force" he was planning to send to Iran. This was acknowledged by Iran also in a separate statement issued by foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council.
Since Pakistan emerged as a conduit for communicating messages between the two warring capitals, India has not officially commented on Islamabad’s role in this effort to end the West Asia conflict but external affairs minister S. Jaishankar was quoted by Opposition MPs late last month as dismissing the neighbouring country as a "dalaal (broker)" when the issue was raised at the all-party meeting.