‘Conflict between India and Terroristan’: Jaishankar says Op Sindoor was a response to terrorism

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Operation Sindoor was not the result of the conflict between two states – India and Pakistan – but a response to terrorism. Speaking at a joint press conference in Brussels, the minister acknowledged the presence of terrorism everywhere but distinguished this case because no one practices terrorism as a state policy. 

Jaishankar was speaking at a joint press conference with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, when he said, “This is not a conflict between two states.  This is actually a response to the threat and practice of terrorism.  So, I would urge you not to think of it as India-Pakistan, but think of it as ‘India-Terroristan’.”

He called for global cooperation on counterterrorism and for resistance to nuclear intimidation. "We strongly believe that there should be zero tolerance for terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.  In that context, it is also essential that we never yield to nuclear blackmail.  This is a shared and interconnected challenge for the global community, and it is imperative that there is strong international cooperation and understanding on the matter," he said, adding that India will not live with terrorism. The message is clear, he said – if the barbaric acts continue then there will be retribution. 

India will not be restrained by geography when it comes to the fight against terrorism. “We don’t care where they are.  If they are deep in Pakistan, we will go deep into Pakistan,” he said. Pakistan is a country that is very “steeped in its use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy”, said the minister. 

Responding to a question on whether the factors that led to the conflict last month still exist, Jaishankar said, "If you call the commitment to terrorism a source of tension, absolutely, it is.” He said proof of the pudding of who destroyed how much lay in the evidence of Pakistan’s ruined airbases.  

“The fighting stopped on the 10th for one reason and one reason only, which was that, on the 10th morning, we hit these eight Pakistani, the main eight Pakistani airfields and disabled them," he said. 

"India specifically struck Muridke and Bahawalpur, the two most prominent and openly declared notorious centres of terrorism in Pakistan.  For decades, from these two places, terror attacks were launched against India.  But, this time India was determined to send the message that it will find the terrorists and eliminate them wherever they are," he said.  

"Terrorism happens in Europe, but no neighbouring European country does terrorism as a declared state policy," he said.