Tawqeer Hussain
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has dismissed speculation that recent military tensions between India and Pakistan brought the two nations close to a nuclear confrontation. He emphasised that the targets were only ‘terrorists camps’.
In an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he Jaishankar stated that India’s response was limited, deliberate, and aimed solely at terrorist infrastructure.
“We were very, very far away [from nuclear conflict],” Jaishankar said. “Our targets were terrorist camps. These were carefully calibrated, non-escalatory steps.”
The Minister described terrorism as an “open business” in Pakistan, facilitated and supported by the state and military.
“The UN Security Council’s terror list is full of Pakistani names and locations—these are the very places we targeted,” he said. “Terrorist groups operate openly in Pakistan’s cities and towns. Anyone who is not blind can see that.”
His remarks came during his visits to the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, where he briefed officials on India’s May 7 Operation Sindoon, launched by India in retaliation for a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam area of Jammu and Kashmir. The operation triggered four days of cross-border clashes with both countries using new-age modern warfare mechanisms like drones, UAVs and missiles.
However the tension de-escalated on May 10 following a phone call between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) from both countries.
Jaishankar said the ceasefire followed a request from Pakistan, adding that India sent a clear message: terror attacks will carry consequences.
When asked about China’s involvement, Jaishankar noted the close relationship between Islamabad and Beijing and pointed out that many weapons used by Pakistan are of Chinese origin.
“You can draw your own conclusions from that,” he added.