US Was In United States”: S Jaishankar On Trump’s India-Pak Mediation Claim

New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated that the recent cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was the result of a direct bilateral arrangement, and not influenced by international mediation, particularly from the United States. In an interview with the Netherlands-based broadcaster NOS, Mr Jaishankar highlighted India’s longstanding concerns over Pakistan’s use of terrorism as a state policy and stressed that India has every right to respond decisively to such threats.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed 26 lives. India responded with Operation Sindoor, targeting nine terror-related sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian response resulted in the deaths of over 100 terrorists associated with groups including Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.

Mr Jaishankar said that the continuation of Operation Sindoor served a strategic purpose. “The operation continues because there is a clear message in that operation – if there are acts of the kind we saw on April 22nd, there will be a response. We will hit the terrorists. If the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them where they are,” he said.