India, Pakistan 'very, very far away' from nuclear conflict: S Jaishankar on recent Indo-Pak clashes

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a recent interview that India and Pakistan were "very, very far away" from a nuclear conflict during their recent clashes. He added that India hit only terrorist camps and infrastructure in Pakistan in a measured and non-escalatory manner. 

The minister visited the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany last week to brief interlocutors on India's strikes against terror facilities in Pakistan and other actions against Islamabad. 

He said that terror is a "very open business" in the neighbouring country. Jaishankar told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview: “Very, very far away... We have terrorist targets. Those were very measured, carefully considered and non-escalating steps."

Furthermore, he said that narratives about clashes between India and Pakistan leading to a nuclear problem "encourage terrible activities like terrorism."

Moreover, Jaishankar added that anyone "who is not blind can see" that terrorist organisations are openly operating in Pakistan's major 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 response to Pakistan's Pahalgam terror attack, causing four days of clashes and raising fears of war. Both India and Pakistan reached an agreement after a telephonic conversation between the DGMOs of the two countries on May 10.

Commenting on the agreement to stop hostilities, Jaishankar said that the firing stopped at Pakistan's request and India sent a clear signal to the terrorists that "there is a price to be paid" for attacks such as the one in Pahalgam.

He added that it was clear to New Delhi's international partners that “terrorism has to be responded to and terrorists must not be allowed to get away with attacks”.

When asked whether China played a role in the recent Indo-Pak conflict, S Jaishankar underlined 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.