New Delhi, May 26: India and Pakistan were “very far away” from a nuclear conflict during their recent clashes because the Indian side only struck at terrorist targets on Pakistani soil in a measured and non-escalatory manner, external affairs minister S Jaishankar has said.
Terror is a “very open business” in Pakistan and narratives about clashes between the two countries leading to a nuclear problem “encourages terrible activities like terrorism”, Jaishankar said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper during his just concluded visit to Germany.
Responding to a question about how close India and Pakistan were to a nuclear conflict, he said, “Very, very far away… We have terrorist targets. Those were very measured, carefully considered and non-escalating steps.”
Jaishankar, who visited the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany last week to brief interlocutors on India’s strikes on terrorist facilities in Pakistan, added, “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 that anyone “who is not blind can see” terrorist organisations are openly operating in Pakistan’s cities and towns. “The UN Security Council terror list is full of Pakistani names and places, and these are the very places we have targeted… In Pakistan, terrorism is a very open business. A business that is supported, financed, organised and used by the state. And by their military.”
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in retaliation for last month’s Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, targeting terrorist infrastructure at nine locations in territories controlled by Pakistan. This triggered four days of clashes, with both sides using drones, missiles and long-range weapons and raising fears of an all-out war, before they reached an understanding on stopping the hostilities on May 10.
Jaishankar noted that the firing stopped at Pakistan’s request and said India sent a clear signal to terrorists that “there is a price to be paid” for carrying out attacks such as the one in Pahalgam. It was also clear to India’s international partners that “terrorism has to be responded to and terrorists must not be allowed to get away with attacks”.
The EAM responded to a question on whether he would thank the US for the May 10 understanding on stopping military actions by saying, “The cessation of firing was agreed between the military commanders of both sides through direct contact…I thank the Indian military because it was the Indian military action that made Pakistan say: We are ready to stop.”
On being asked if China played a role in the conflict with Pakistan, Jaishankar said many of the weapons used by Pakistan are of Chinese origin and the two countries are very close. “You can draw your own conclusions from that,” he said.
Jaishankar was also asked why India and Germany haven’t been able to reconcile their positions on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and replied that bilateral relations are built on common ground and not because one partner adopts the concerns of the other. “For you in Europe, other concerns and worries are more important than for me in Asia. When you think of conflict, you think of Ukraine. When I think of conflict, I think of Pakistan, terrorism, China and our borders,” he said.
Europe speaks about international rules in the context of Ukraine, whereas India thinks of its “own borders, of Pakistan, which has violated my borders, and China, which has done the same”. He added, “So when you talk about borders and territorial integrity, I ask you: What about my borders?”
Jaishankar noted that the world is no longer “a comfortable place” and it is “useful to have a partnership with countries like India”. He contended that Germany is “starting to find its way in this world and make its own decisions” and added. “There is a lot to be said for this country, the third largest economy, a technological powerhouse. All Germany needs is friends like India.”
