New Delhi: Not US President Donald Trump but the Indian military’s precision strikes incapacitated Pakistan’s main airbases and air defence system, forcing its director general of military operations (DGMO) to say that “we are ready to stop”, S. Jaishankar has said.
In an interview published Sunday in a German newspaper, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar also said that at “no point was a nuclear level reached”, lamenting that the nuclear bogey “encourages terrible activities like terrorism”.
“The cessation of firing was agreed [upon] between the military commanders of both sides through direct contact. The morning before, we effectively hit and incapacitated Pakistan’s main airbases and air defence system. So, who should I thank for the cessation of hostilities? I thank the Indian military,” Jaishankar said to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
His comment came in response to a question regarding the role the US played in pausing hostilities between India and Pakistan.
US President Donald Trump had claimed credit for the understanding reached between New Delhi and Islamabad.
“We did what we set out to do. We have sent a clear signal to the terrorists that there is a price to be paid for carrying out such attacks, as they did on us in Kashmir in April. The firing was then started by the Pakistani military. We fired back in self-defence, and once the Pakistanis understood that they were taking a harmful course, we were able to stop firing,” added Jaishankar, discussing the current situation between India and Pakistan.
India launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May this year, allegedly targeting nine terror complexes in Pakistan, including Bahawalpur and Muridke. The situation escalated with the Pakistani military launching cross-border drone and missile strikes, which India responded to with precision strikes on air bases in Pakistan.
On 10 May, the two countries announced a bilateral understanding to cease hostilities.
Jaishankar also emphasised that “there is a narrative as if everything that happens in our part of the world leads directly to a nuclear problem. That disturbs me a lot because it encourages terrible activities like terrorism. If anything, much more is happening with the nuclear issue in your part of the world.”
On India’s ties with Russia
Jaishankar, in the interview with FAZ, pointed out that even Germany, as a country, has economic relations with China and Pakistan, the countries that concern India, when quizzed on New Delhi’s ties with Moscow amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
“As soon as you bring a rule or norm into play, it is again linked to the situation that is your priority. You talk about rules and think of Ukraine. I talk about rules, and I think of my own borders; of Pakistan, which has violated my borders; and China, which has done the same. So when you talk about borders and territorial integrity, I ask you: What about my borders?” Jaishankar said.
The Indian External Affairs Minister added: “My point is that you sound as if you can do business with states that are different, but we cannot. My neighbour Pakistan has caused every conceivable problem under the sun, from nuclear weaponisation to the transfer of nuclear technology to irresponsible partners to terrorism. But doesn’t Germany also do business with Pakistan?”
India has maintained ties with Russia despite facing pressure from European nations during the early stages of the war to cut its relations with the country.
New Delhi has maintained that “this is not an era for war” and called for “dialogue and diplomacy” to end the war. Its trade with Russia has grown to over $50 billion, with New Delhi increasingly importing Russian oil.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Operation Sindoor won’t hurt Indian economy: BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal
first he was yapping how we only hit terrorist sites, not military bases in order to avoid escalation…
now changed tune to hitting airbases and defenses.
the guy can’t stop lying, just like his supreme leader.
embarrassed the country on a global level.