External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated that the recent cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was the result of a direct bilateral arrangement, and not influenced by international mediation, particularly from the United States. In an interview with the Netherlands-based broadcaster NOS, Mr Jaishankar highlighted India’s longstanding concerns over Pakistan’s use of terrorism as a state policy and stressed that India has every right to respond decisively to such threats.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed 26 lives. India responded with Operation Sindoor, targeting nine terror-related sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian response resulted in the deaths of over 100 terrorists associated with groups including Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Mr Jaishankar said that the continuation of Operation Sindoor served a strategic purpose. “The operation continues because there is a clear message in that operation – if there are acts of the kind we saw on April 22nd, there will be a response. We will hit the terrorists. If the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them where they are,” he said.
He clarified that while the operation remained active in principle, it did not mean continued military engagement.
“Continuing the operation is not the same as fighting with each other. Right now, there is an agreed cessation of fighting and military action. So the operation is dormant,” he said.
According to Mr Jaishankar, the ceasefire agreement was initiated by the Pakistani military on May 10 through hotline communication.
“It was the Pakistani army which sent a message that they were ready to stop firing, and we responded accordingly,” he said. Mr Jaishankar again reiterated that while other countries, including the United States, expressed concern and made calls to both sides, the ceasefire was negotiated exclusively between New Delhi and Islamabad.
“The US was in the United States,” Mr Jaishankar noted pointedly, in response to a question about Washington’s involvement. He confirmed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance had reached out – Mr Rubio to him and Mr Vance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi – but their role was limited to expressing concern.
“We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the United States but to everyone, saying if the Pakistanis want to stop fighting, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their general has to call up our general and say this. And that is what happened,” he said.
Asked about claims by US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly suggested he had facilitated the ceasefire and offered to mediate what he described as a “thousand-year conflict,” Mr Jaishankar dismissed such claims.
“This is something between us and the Pakistanis. We propose to deal with it bilaterally,” he said.
The External Affairs Minister provided context to the long-standing tensions by going back to 1947. “From the very start, Pakistan used proxies and denied involvement. Almost at the time of independence, Pakistan sent in proxy forces and claimed they were tribals. It turned out there were Pakistani military people, some in uniform, some not,” he said.
Mr Jaishankar added that India’s position on Kashmir is non-negotiable.
“Kashmir is part of India. No country negotiates a part of its territory. There is one segment of Kashmir which is under illegal occupation by Pakistan since 1947-48. We would like to discuss with them when they propose to leave that part.”
He dismissed any suggestion that the Line of Control (Loc) or governance structures in Jammu and Kashmir were up for discussion. “This has got to be a serious talk. It is something that we need to do between us and the government of Pakistan. But we are not negotiating our territory,” he said.
