External affairs minister S Jaishankar strongly refuted opposition claims that Pakistan was informed beforehand about India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ strike during a consultative committee meeting in New Delhi on Monday, CNN-News18 has reported citing sources.
The meeting, headed by Jaishankar, reportedly witnessed a heated war of words between the NDA and opposition members.
Jaishankar told the panel that Islamabad was informed only after the operation had taken place on May 7. India had struck nine terror targets in Pakistan and PoK during Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
The foreign minister also described the opposition’s portrayal of the events as a “dishonest misrepresentation of facts,” sources told News18.
Addressing the panel, Jaishankar said, “The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) in Pakistan was informed only after the strike, even after the first release by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition members have been accusing Jaishankar of informing Pakistan before the airstrikes took place, suggesting that the minister's decision may have led to losses of Indian jets. Rahul even referred to Jaishankar as Jaishankar a "Jaichand", the medieval period ruler of Kannauj who is viewed as a "traitor" since he joined hands with Muhammad Ghori against Prithviraj Chauhan.
However, Jaishankar firmly rejected the allegations and also assured the committee that the government has actively worked to dispel misinformation spread by Pakistan regarding Operation Sindoor.
According to CNN-News18, members of the panel expressed concerns about terror threats in Punjab in addition to Jammu and Kashmir, urging stronger offensive and defensive measures.
Responding to these concerns, Jaishankar said, “India, this time, wanted to hit at the epicentre of terrorism, the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).”
He added that such a decisive move was unprecedented, saying, “The move was something that no other previous government had thought of.”
Highlighting international support for India, Jaishankar said, “Out of 200 countries in the world, only four stood for Pakistan, which clearly means the world lauded India’s fight against terrorism.”
On the Indus Waters Treaty, Jaishankar said, “India is extremely serious about the implementation of the abundance of Indus Waters Treaty, and the impact would be seen in the next few days.”
He reiterated India’s firm position on continued operations: “There is no confusion, whatsoever, that ‘Operation Sindoor’ will continue as long as Pakistan provokes India. There will be no talks with Pakistan, except on the Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) and terrorism.”
The EAM also stressed that India has communicated its stance on cross-border terrorism to countries worldwide.
Addressing US involvement, Jaishankar dismissed reports of American interference, saying, “India has no control over what (US President) Donald Trump said, any matter between India and Pakistan was only bilateral.”
“There were only DGMO to DGMO talks, no US interference," he clarified further.
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