New Delhi, July 28: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday asserted that at no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage of trade with Operation Sindoor, and the request for halting the military action came from the Pakistani side through the DGMO channel.
Jaishankar also said the result of India’s diplomacy post-Pahalgam attack was that only three out of 190 nations that are part of the UN opposed Operation Sindoor. There was an overwhelming support that the country that has been attacked has the right to defend itself, he said.
Intervening in the special discussion in the Lok Sabha on ‘India’s strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam’, Jaishankar said it was important to send a clear, strong and resolute message after the Pahalgam attack as “our red lines had been crossed and we had to make it very apparent that there would be serious consequences”.
Hailing the government’s diplomatic efforts post-Pahalgam attack, the EAM said, “What we tried to create was a narrative and prepare the diplomacy for the launch of Operation Sindoor. The result of that diplomacy was that out of the 190 nations of the UN, only three, besides Pakistan, opposed Operation Sindoor.
“Overwhelmingly, there was recognition that terror was unacceptable and the country that has been attacked has the right to defend itself, and India was doing exactly that,” Jaishankar said.
“When Operation Sindoor was launched, we put out our objectives that it was hitting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Our actions were focused, measured, and non-escalatory, and we were living up to the commitment that those responsible for those attacks will be held responsible,” he said.
Jaishankar pointed out that The Resistance Front (TRF) group had been designated as a global terror organization by the US due to Indian diplomacy.
“On May 10, we received phone calls sharing the impression of other countries that Pakistan was ready to cease the fighting. Our position was that if Pakistan was ready, we needed to get this as a request from the Pakistani side through the DGMO channel. That is exactly how that request came,” Jaishankar said.
“I want to make two things very clear — at no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage with trade and what was going on. Secondly, there was no call between the prime minister and President Trump from April 22 — when President Trump called up to convey his sympathy — till June 17, when he called up the PM, who was in Canada,” he said.
Jaishankar said that Indian diplomacy then tried to bring out Pakistan’s long-standing support for terrorism and how the Pahalgam attack was targeted at Jammu and Kashmir’s economy and sow communal discord.
“Messages were two: zero tolerance for terrorism and the right to defend our people against terrorists. All diplomatic briefings were aimed at these two objectives,” he said.