External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in America- India has every right to take action against terrorism to protect its people. India will continue to use this right. He was speaking to the media before the meeting of QUAD foreign ministers in Washington DC on Tuesday. He said that the victims of terrorism and those who spread terror should never be seen as the same. The world should adopt a zero tolerance policy against terrorism.
Earlier on Tuesday, Jaishankar had said in an interview with American magazine Newsweek’s CEO Dev Prasad that the India-Pakistan ceasefire has nothing to do with trade with America. In the interview, Jaishankar said- On the night of 9 May, US Vice President JD Vance spoke to PM Modi. I was also in the same room at that time. Vance had warned that Pakistan was planning a major attack on India. PM Modi, not caring about this, had said- the attack will be responded to.
The Foreign Minister said- The next morning (May 10) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted the PM. Said- Pakistan is ready for talks. After this, Pakistan’s DGMO Major General Kashif Abdullah contacted India’s DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai and requested a ceasefire. In fact, on May 10, the first information about ceasefire between India and Pakistan was given by US President Donald Trump through his X post. Trump has said on many occasions that he had threatened India and Pakistan not to do trade, after which both the countries agreed to ceasefire.
Jaishankar said- the events did not happen like that. Diplomacy and trade related discussions are completely different. I think the people associated with trade are doing what they should do, like numbers, lines, products and trade agreement. They are all professionals and focused on this. India’s stand is clear, terrorists will not be spared under any circumstances. They will no longer be seen as proxies. Governments that support terrorists will not be spared.
During the discussion, Jaishankar said that the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir on April 22 was a well-planned economic war. Its aim was to destroy the tourism industry in Kashmir. This attack was an attack on tourism, which is the backbone of Kashmir’s economy. The terrorists wanted people to be scared, tourists to stop coming and the valley’s economic structure to collapse. The attackers separated people on the basis of religious identity and then killed them, so that communal tension could spread.