Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has said that India did not leak details of the May 10, 2025 ceasefire with Pakistan to the United States. He suggested that the information may have come from the Pakistani side. His remarks have added to the debate over how Washington learned about the ceasefire before India publicly announced the understanding.

Speaking at an event organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation in New Delhi on Tuesday, Chauhan said the ceasefire decision came directly through contact between the Directors General of Military Operations, or DGMOs, of India and Pakistan. He said he could comment only on the military side of the agreement. He also made it clear that he saw no role for any third party in the decision.

“I told you that they picked up the phone at about 9:30 and spoke. We chose our own time. The DGMO said he is not available till about 3 o'clock, and then at 3 o'clock he said and that we decided at 5 o'clock,” Chauhan said.

“So, the ceasefire is decided between two DGMOs. And that's it. Means I don't see the role of anyone else,” he added.

Chauhan also raised questions about how the United States received information about the ceasefire before India could make a public announcement. He said the two sides had kept their DGMO-level conversation confidential. He questioned how the information reached American officials and appeared in a US announcement ahead of India's statement.

“How did this particular information get leaked out to the Americans that they tweeted before we could announce this? Again, I'm really not sure, but it didn't leak out from us,” he said.

Chauhan further indicated that the information could have come from Pakistan. He said India and Pakistan had maintained secrecy around the conversation between their military officials. His remarks suggest that India did not share details of the understanding with the US before the public announcement.

The issue has gained attention due to repeated claims by US President Donald Trump that Washington played a key role in ending the military confrontation between India and Pakistan. Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the May 10 ceasefire, which ended four days of hostilities after India's Operation Sindoor.

On May 10, Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire”. He said the decision followed what he described as a “long night of talks mediated by the United States”. Since then, Trump has repeatedly linked the end of the fighting to US diplomatic and economic pressure.

On July 31, Trump again claimed that India and Pakistan had been “very angry” and said the threat of high tariffs helped bring the conflict to an end. He has also claimed that 11 aircraft were shot down during the confrontation. India has rejected his claims about the aircraft losses. New Delhi has also consistently denied that the US mediated the ceasefire.

In May 2025, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed that Trump had offered India and Pakistan access to trade opportunities to prevent the conflict from widening. India rejected this account. Indian officials said trade and tariffs did not feature in discussions between Indian and US officials during the conflict.

India has repeatedly maintained that the decision to stop military action came directly through the two DGMOs. The Ministry of External Affairs said the two sides worked out the date, time and wording of the cessation during DGMO-level contact on May 10.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also rejected Trump's mediation claim in Parliament in July 2025. Modi said no world leader had asked India to stop its military action. Pakistan, however, has acknowledged a US role. Its foreign ministry said in May 2025 that it appreciated the “constructive role” played by the United States along with other countries in supporting the ceasefire understanding.

The ceasefire followed Operation Sindoor, which India launched on May 7, 2025. Indian forces began the operation after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people. India targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The military confrontation intensified over the next three days. India and Pakistan carried out multiple strikes and counter-strikes. On May 10, Pakistan's DGMO contacted his Indian counterpart. The two sides then reached an understanding to stop military action.

Chauhan's latest remarks reinforce India's position that the ceasefire emerged from direct military communication between the two countries. They also raise fresh questions about how the US learned about the agreement before India announced it publicly, while suggesting that the information may have originated from the Pakistani side.