Terrorism is an open business in Pakistan: EAM Jaishankar
Says Op Sindoor halted only after DGMO talks at Pak’s request
New Delhi: Terrorism is an “open business” in Pakistan that is financed, organised and used by the state and its military, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said.
The external affairs minister also said that India and Pakistan were “very, very far away” from a nuclear conflict during their recent clashes.
In an interview to German newspaper FAZ, Jaishankar, in an apparent criticism of the West, said there has been a tendency to link everything in “our part of the world” to a “nuclear problem”.
“Very, very far away. I’m frankly astonished by your question,” he said when asked how far away was the world from a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan.
“At no point was a nuclear level reached. 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,” he said.
Jaishankar said terrorist organisations are “openly” operating from the cities and towns of Pakistan.
His remarks came when asked if India was able to convince its partners about the link between Pakistan and the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack.
“Anyone who is not blind can see that the terrorist organisations are openly operating from the cities and towns of Pakistan. That is no secret,” the external affairs minister said.
“The UN Security Council terror list is full of Pakistani names and places, and these are the very places we have targeted. So please don’t think that something is only going on behind the scenes,” he said.
“In Pakistan, terrorism is a very open business. A business that is supported, financed, organized and used by the state. And by their military,” Jaishankar added.
The external affairs minister was in Berlin on the third and final leg of his three-nation tour of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.
On India’s response following the Pahalgam terror attack, Jaishankar said New Delhi sent a clear signal to the terrorists that there is a price to be paid for carrying out such attacks.
“The firing was then started by the Pakistani military. We fired back in self-defense and once the Pakistanis understood that they were taking a harmful course, we were able to stop firing,” he said.
“This situation has not changed for two weeks, that is the status,” he said on the May 10 understanding reached between Indian and Pakistani militaries on stopping military actions.
To a question on whether the US should be thanked for helping firm up the understanding, Jaishankar said it was agreed between the military commanders of India and Pakistan through “direct contact”.
He said India effectively hit and incapacitated Pakistan’s main airbases and air defence systems that forced the neighbouring country to seek ending of the hostilities.
“So who should I thank for the cessation of hostilities? I thank the Indian military because it was the Indian military action that made Pakistan say: We are ready to stop,” he said.
On whether China played a role in India’s conflict with Pakistan, Jaishankar only referred to Chinese-origin weapons in Pakistani military’s armoury.
“Many of the weapons systems that Pakistan has are of Chinese origin and the two countries are very close. You can draw your own conclusions from that,” he said.
Under Operation Sindoor, India carried out precision strikes on nine terror infrastructures early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Pakistani attempts were strongly responded to by the Indian side.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on May 10 announced that India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect.
Asked why India and Germany have not been able to reconcile their positions on Russia’s war in Ukraine notwithstanding their strategic ties, Jaishankar did not give a direct reply.
“For you in Europe, other concerns and worries are important than for me in Asia. When you think of conflict, you think of Ukraine,” he said.
“When I think of conflict, I think of Pakistan, terrorism, China and our borders. Our perspective cannot be the same,” he added.
Meanwhile, talking to a parliamentary panel, the EAM said that Pakistan was informed by the DGMO about Indian strikes on terror camps in their territory only after they were executed.
He also said he never spoke to Pakistan and cleared the air about alleged US “interference”, saying the decision to halt the military operation was taken bilaterally after a request from the Pakistan side.
Addressing members of the Consultative Committee on External Affairs here, the minister said the cessation of Operation Sindoor was done only after Pakistan DGMO asked for the halting of hostilities and there was no question of US mediation between the two, the sources said.
The Congress and Rahul Gandhi have been targeting Jaishankar, alleging that he had informed Pakistan beforehand about the Indian strikes at terror camps.
Referring to the criticism by the Congress, Jaishankar told the MPs that it was unfortunate that some leaders were doing politics over his statement by “misquoting” him.
He also categorically rejected any claims that he spoke to the Pakistani side.
The sources said the minister told the MPs in the meeting that only the DGMOs of the countries spoke to each other and no other Indian official spoke with the Pakistani side.
The minister also told the MPs that Pakistan had sought the help of the United States in halting the operations by India and the US side was told clearly that Pakistan should speak directly to India.
He said the US was urging India to speak with Pakistan and it was told that terror and talks would not go together, he said.
Responding to several queries posed by MPs during the meeting about the halting of Operation Sindoor and the US “interference”, the External Affairs Minister told the MPs at the meeting that the DGMO had informed his Pakistani counterpart that if they would fire, India would fire back.
