New Delhi: The N-word was thrown around randomly amid the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor, in which our Armed forces successfully destroyed nine terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK.
Many feared that since both are nuclear arms-powered nations, weapons of mass destruction could be an option in the event of a further escalation of tensions.
US President Donald Trump claimed credit for an Indo-Pak ceasefire agreement on May 10 by ‘stopping a nuclear war’.
India countered Trump’s role of playing peacemaker multiple times with firm statements that it was an agreement between the two military chiefs, without a third party being involved.
Now, External Affairs minister has said in no uncertain terms that India and Pakistan were “very very far away” from a nuclear conflict earlier this month.
Asked if India and Pakistan were on the brink of a nuclear conflict, Jaishankar told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that such narratives are “astonishing” and “deeply disturbing.”
Stressing that India’s response to the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 was “measured” and “non-escalatory”, aimed only at targeting terrorists, Jaishankar 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.”
Also Read: PM Modi’s Address To Nation: ‘We’ve Set New Normal, Won’t Accept Nuclear Blackmail’
“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,” said Jaishankar, who visited The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany last week to brief interlocutors on India’s strikes on terrorist facilities in Pakistan.
He said 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.”
Also Read: India Informed Pakistan Of Operation Sindoor 30 Minutes After Its Launch: Jaishankar
India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 innocent men, and killed eliminated 100 terrorists in Pakistan and PoK.
Pakistan hit back with drones and missiles, targeting around 30 Indian towns and cities near the northern and western borders. India’s air defence systems thwarted those attempts, though there were some military and civilian casualties, mostly in Jammu & Kashmir.
Asked whether he would thank the US for the May 10 agreement on stopping military actions, the EAM said, “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.”
