Hand over wanted terrorists, EAM tells Pak
India on Thursday called on Pakistan to hand over terrorists named in the list previously shared with Islamabad even as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during his Europe tour, accused the Pakistani government and its army of actively supporting terrorism.
Informed Pak after strikes: MEA
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal rejected Opposition’s charge that EAM S Jaishankar had informed Pakistan at the start of Operation Sindoor. “We told them that we had exercised our right to respond after the retaliatory strikes were carried out,” he said.
In an interview with Dutch publication “De Volkskrant”, Jaishankar reiterated India’s demand for a permanent end to terrorism, warning that while the ceasefire has halted military action for now, there would be consequences if terror attacks from Pakistan continued.
The minister said it was erroneous to go along with the narrative that Pakistan “doesn’t know what is going on”. “The most notorious terrorists on the UN sanctions list are all in Pakistan. Let’s not pretend Pakistan is not involved. The state is involved. The army is up to its neck in it.” His remarks came ahead of an all-party Indian delegation’s visit to Europe from May 25. The delegation will travel to France, Italy, Denmark, the UK, Belgium and Germany where the leaders will reinforce India’s stance that all terror links, direct and indirect, trace back to Pakistan.
The minister rejected any justification for terrorism, calling it an “unacceptable international crime”. On Kashmir, he reiterated India’s position that Pakistan must vacate illegally occupied territories and said, “Our position is clear. The illegal occupiers (Pakistan) must return what belongs to India. No third-party intervention is acceptable. This is a bilateral issue.”
In New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal echoed Jaishankar’s message. “Talks and terror cannot go together. We remain open to discussing the extradition of wanted terrorists whose list was provided to Pakistan some years ago,” he said. Regarding any future dialogue on J&K, Jaiswal said, “Discussions will only proceed if Pakistan vacates illegally occupied Indian territory.”
On the Indus Waters Treaty, Jaiswal said it would remain suspended until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ended cross-border terrorism. He quoted PM Narendra Modi’s warning that “water and blood cannot flow together”.
On Opposition’s allegations that Jaishankar admitted that India informed Pakistan about the retaliatory strikes “at the start”, Jaiswal said, “We informed Pakistan after the May 7 action.”
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