S Jaishankar was asked if US needs to be thanked for India, Pak ceasefire. His reply says it all
S Jaishankar was asked if the world needs to thank the United States for the ceasefire between New Delhi and Pakistan, to which the External Affairs Minister said he would thank the Indian armed forces for leaving Pakistan with no choice but to reach out for a cessation of firing.
Jaishankar made the remarks during an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
When asked if the world has America to thank for the ceasefire, Jaishankar said, "The cessation of firing was agreed between the military commanders of both sides through direct contact. The morning before, we effectively hit and incapacitated Pakistan's main airbases and air defence system.
"So, who should I thank for the cessation of hostilities? I thank the Indian military because it was the Indian military action that made Pakistan say: We are ready to stop."
In another interview, Jaishankar said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance had reached out, but their role was limited to expressing concern.
"We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the United States but to everyone, saying if the Pakistanis want to stop fighting, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their general has to call up our general and say this. And that is what happened," he said.
Asked if the ceasefire has restored the situation before the conflict, Jaishankar said, "We have sent a clear signal to the terrorists that there is a price to be paid for carrying out such attacks, as they did on us in Kashmir in April. The firing was then started by the Pakistani military.
"We fired back in self-defence and once the Pakistanis understood that they were taking a harmful course, we were able to stop firing. This situation has not changed for two weeks, that is the status," he said.
Jaishankar has maintained that India will deal with Pakistan purely bilaterally and that there should be no confusion in that regard.
In his first address to the nation after Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India will not give in to nuclear blackmail by Pakistan, and Jaishankar underscored this as well.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump took credit for brokering a ceasefire between Indian and Pakistan following four days of escalation and even offered to resolve the Kashmir issue.
Operation Sindoor was a fierce military operation launched by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 tourists who were enjoying their vacation at Baisaran Valley, which is referred to as India's Switzerland.
The operation aimed to dismantle terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
After the Pakistan Army again targeted Indian civilians and resorted to cross-border firing, the Indian Armed Forces retaliated, destroying defence systems of the hostile neighbour. On May 10, both countries agreed to a ceasefire after four days of escalation.
Following the same, India sent seven all-party delegations to different countries to apprise them of the significance of Operation Sindoor and expose Pakistan's role in harbouring cross-border terrorism.
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