‘Not our intention to escalate’: S Jaishankar says military attacks will be met with firm response

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India does not intend to escalate matters but any military attack on the country will be met with firm response. This came after India carried out Operation Sindoor on Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, after which Islamabad said the raids will be met with equal response. India had, however, clarified that Operation Sindoor targeted only terrorist camps and no military installations were impacted. 

Jaishankar said the barbaric Pahalgam terror attack compelled India to carry out the cross-border terror infrastructure. “This attack compelled us to respond on May 7 by striking at the cross-border terrorist infrastructure. Our response was targeted and measured. It is not our intention to escalate the situation. However, if there are military attacks on us, there should be no doubt that it will be met with a very, very firm response," he said at a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. 

As India’s neighbour and close partner, it is important that Iran has a good understanding of the situation, he said. The Iranian foreign minister is in New Delhi for a scheduled visit amid escalating tensions. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence said that Pakistan attempted to target 16 Indian military installations across northern and western India. All incoming drones and missiles were intercepted by India’s Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems.

The government said that the debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks. It added that Pakistan targeted missiles and drones at Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj.