New Delhi: Breaking his silence in a rare interview following Operation Sindoor, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar firmly dismissed US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Washington played a key role in brokering an understanding between India and Pakistan.
“The US was in the United States,” he said, when asked about the role of the White House during the hostilities, adding pointedly that while US Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with the Indian and Pakistani leadership, cessation of hostilities was a direct outcome of military-to-military communication between the two nations.
Jaishankar was speaking to Dutch public broadcaster NOS reporter Sander van Hoorn and asserted that the Pakistani Army, through a hotline, sent a message on 10 May expressing willingness to stop firing.
“We made one thing very clear to everyone who spoke to us—not just the US, but everyone, that look, if the Pakistanis want to stop firing, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their general has to call up our general and say it and that is what happened,” he said.
He then outlined a detailed timeline of events leading to the cessation of hostilities. Following the “barbaric” Pahalgam terror attack, India identified the group responsible, The Resistance Front, which is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, and struck nine locations listed by the UN as terrorist-operated sites. When the Pakistan military retaliated, India launched strikes on eight of their airbases on 10 May, rendering key infrastructure “non-functional”. This, Jaishankar said, “compelled” the Pakistani military to request a cessation of firing.
“The operation continues because there is a clear message in the operation that if there is an act like this, we will give a response, we will hit the terrorists, if the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them there. But continuing operations is not the same as firing on each other. Right now, there is an agreed cessation of firing and military action. At the moment there is no firing, there has been some repositioning,” he added.
Asked why he chose to speak now, Jaishankar said, “I had a job to do at home. There is a discipline we follow,” noting that government spokespersons had been communicating in the interim.
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Trump’s intervention & Kashmir
On Trump’s revived suggestion that the US should mediate on Kashmir, Jaishankar responded bluntly, saying it is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan and must be dealt with accordingly.
“They [Pakistan] have pursued a radical, extremist, religious agenda using terrorism across the border as a way to pressurise us. We propose to deal with it bilaterally, with the Pakistanis. It is something that we and the Pakistanis have to settle one to one. We are open to them discussing this with us and their ending terrorism. It is a serious talk. It is between the two of us,” he said.
He added, “Kashmir is a part of India. No country negotiates a part of its territory. For us, it is part of India. There is one segment that has been under occupancy of Pakistan illegally since 1947-1948 so we would like to discuss with them, when they propose to leave that part. It is between us and the Pakistanis.”
Asked about economic pressures on India due to border tensions with Pakistan and China, Jaishankar emphasised that India has long faced a harsher security environment than Europe. “You had the luxury of not choosing between security and prosperity. We didn’t. Our neighbors—especially Pakistan and China—have kept us on high alert. You’re just now going through your own reality check.”
He noted that despite recent tensions, India’s economic fundamentals remain strong and voiced optimism about the Indian growth trajectory. “I’m bullish about our economic prospects. We are managing security challenges and zero tolerance for terrorism is non-negotiable,” he added.
“For me, having zero tolerance for terrorism is an important part of what we are. We were appreciative of the very clear stance we got from the Dutch government. From Pahalgam till today, I saw the Dutch government’s understanding of our policy of zero tolerance for terrorism. I see a closer future for us where Europe and the Netherlands are thinking more autonomously for our interest and find benefit in working with another centre,” he added.
Jaishankar, in the interview, called Netherlands one of India’s top five foreign investors and its largest European investor, while discussing deepening cooperation in sectors like water, agriculture, health, semiconductors, and defense. He underlined the strategic and economic value of stronger ties with both the Netherlands and the EU, framing them as natural partners in an increasingly volatile world.
On trade negotiations with the United States, Jaishankar refrained from giving specifics but hinted that talks are ongoing. “Don’t jump the gun. Be patient. We don’t give readouts in advance. Any deal must work for both parties—however long it takes.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)