Kumar Bahukhandi
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar– Photo -Reuters
When asked that you had earlier also called Pakistan a center of terrorism and said that the terrorist groups active in Pakistan are getting support from the Pakistani government, Jaishankar said that I have said this and I am saying it. Suppose, there is a big military center in the middle of a city like Amsterdam, where thousands of people have gathered for military training. Will you say that your government does not know anything about this? Absolutely not.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is currently on a tour of three European countries. He is in the Netherlands while writing this story on May 22 , 2025 . Here he discussed India’s Operation Sindoor against terrorism, terrorist Pakistan and the issue of Kashmir.
In an interview to a Netherlands newspaper, Jaishankar said that India deserves praise for military action against terrorism. India should be patted on the back for this.
He said that ceasefire is a temporary solution. What will be the way to a permanent and sustainable solution to the conflict with Pakistan? We want to put a decisive end to terrorism. Because of the ceasefire, both countries are not taking military action against each other, but if terrorist attacks from Pakistan continue like this, then they will have to bear the brunt of it. Pakistanis need to understand this well.
When asked that you had earlier also called Pakistan a center of terrorism and said that the terrorist groups active in Pakistan are getting support from the Government of Pakistan. To this Jaishankar said that I have said this and I am saying it. Suppose, there is a big military center in the middle of a city like Amsterdam, where thousands of people have gathered for military training. Will you say that your government does not know anything about it? Absolutely not. We do not have to adopt the narrative that Pakistan does not know anything. Pakistani terrorists are in the list of the most notorious terrorists banned by the United Nations. These terrorists operate comfortably from big cities in broad daylight. Everyone knows about their activities. So do not think that Pakistan does not know anything or Pakistan is not involved in this. The Government of Pakistan is involved in this. The army of Pakistan is immersed in it from head to toe.
Jaishankar has said earlier that there was a clear message in Operation Sindoor that if there is an attack like the one on April 22, then a befitting reply will be given. We will not spare the terrorists. If the terrorists are in Pakistan, wherever they are, we will not spare them. There was a message in this operation. At present, there is a ceasefire by agreement.
He said that you can say that terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is partly the result of the entire Kashmir dispute. For us, terrorism is a completely unacceptable international crime which cannot be justified in any way. Terrorists are targeting the vibrant tourism industry of Jammu and Kashmir. They are also deliberately giving religious color to the attack. This should not be accepted globally and as far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned. It is a historical fact that after the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, Kashmir chose to remain with India. Our stand is that the illegally occupied areas should be given to its rightful ruler, which is us.
When asked if the international community can mediate in the Kashmir dispute, Jaishankar said no, it is a bilateral issue between the two countries. So will India not accept Trump’s offer on the Kashmir issue? To this Jaishankar said, as I said, we will resolve this together with Pakistan.
Let us tell you that PM Narendra Modi was to visit Netherlands in May third week to further strengthen Indo-Dutch relations. But he cancelled the visit due to tension between India and Pakistan. In his place, Jaishankar’s visit to Netherlands was fixed. Now PM Modi will visit Netherlands at the end of this year.
