Amid mounting escalation in ties with Pakistan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said today that it is not India’s intention to escalate the situation with Pakistan, but “if there are military attacks on us, there should be no doubt that it will be met with a very, very firm response”.
Speaking during the bilateral talks with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, EAM conveyed that it is important that Iran as a neighbour and close partner should “have a good understanding of this situation”.
He said: “Excellency, you are visiting India at a time when we are responding to a particularly barbaric terrorist attack on 22 April in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“This attack compelled us to respond on May 7 by striking at cross-border terrorist infrastructure.
“Our response was targeted and measured. It is not our intention to escalate this 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.
“As a neighbour and close partner, it is important that you have a good understanding of this situation.”
The EAM’s comments come a day after India launched cross-border strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people, including a Nepali citizen, were brutally gunned down.
UNI RN
