'Taken out of context': Foreign Secretary clarifies Jaishankar’s remarks on Operation Sindoor amid Rahul Gandhi’s allegations

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri

Foreign Secretary  Vikram Misri on Monday clarified that EAM S Jaishankar's remarks over Operation Sindoor were "taken out of context", News18 reported citing sources.

Misri gave the clarification while addressing the Standing Committee on External Affairs amid growing controversy over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of EAM, where he accused the government of informing Pakistan about India’s retaliatory strikes before they were carried out. The accusation was based on a video clip of Jaishankar’s media statement.

“The fact is that India had informed Pakistan about the precise strikes after the initial phase of its commencement," he reportedly said.

Last week, Jaishankar addressed the media, saying, “At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying we are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military. So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice."

Sharing this clip on social media platform X, Rahul Gandhi accused the government of committing a "crime" by allegedly informing Pakistan in advance. “EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?” he wrote.

Earlier today, Gandhi escalated his attack, accusing Jaishankar of avoiding the issue. “EAM Jaishankar’s silence isn’t just telling — it’s damning. So I’ll ask again: How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew? This wasn’t a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth,” he posted.

In retaliation, the BJP shared a video from a past joint press conference held by top officials of the Indian Armed Forces. In the video, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti is seen responding to a journalist’s query, stating that such details could not be disclosed as they might benefit the adversary.

“We are in a combat scenario. The question is: have we achieved our objective? The answer is a thumping yes. As for the details, I would not like to comment at this time, as we are still in combat, and revealing such information could give an advantage to the adversary. All our pilots are back home,” Bharti said.