Ricky Gill Honored with Distinguished Action Award for Role in India-Pakistan Ceasefire

Recognition for Diplomatic Efforts

Ricky Gill, a special assistant to the President of the United States, has been honored with the National Security Council’s Distinguished Action Award. This recognition is attributed to his involvement in the negotiations for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, as reported by a news outlet.

Gill was presented with the award by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week.

With Indian heritage, Gill serves as the senior director for South and Central Asia at the US National Security Council. During the first term of the Trump administration, he held the position of Director for Russia and European Energy Security at the council.

Former President Donald Trump has frequently asserted that he played a crucial role in facilitating the ceasefire between India and Pakistan after a four-day conflict in May. He claimed that his mediation involved threatening to impose high tariffs on both nations.

However, New Delhi has dismissed these assertions, insisting that the ceasefire was not a result of any mediation and that the US was not involved in the discussions. The Indian government has maintained that trade discussions did not occur during the conflict in May.

The tensions between India and Pakistan escalated on May 7, when the Indian military conducted strikes, known as Operation Sindoor, targeting what it described as terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

This military action was a response to a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 individuals on April 22.

In retaliation, the Pakistan Army responded to the Indian strikes by shelling villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the deaths of at least 22 Indian civilians and eight military personnel.

Pakistan has reported that 11 of its military personnel and 40 civilians lost their lives during the conflict.