If terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them where they are: EAM Jaishankar

Refuting President Donald Trump's claim about a US-mediated ceasefire in the recent conflict with Pakistan, foreign minister S Jaishankar said that while American officials were in touch with both the Indian and Pakistani leadership, the cessation of military action was negotiated directly between New Delhi and Islamabad. In an interview in the Netherlands, Jaishankar said the fighting with Pakistan was halted after its army sent a message saying it's ready to stop firing, and India responded accordingly.

The rejection of Trump's mediation claim for the first time at the political level followed repeated doubling down by Trump and his team that he brought the conflict to an end by forcing a ceasefire. Asked where the US was during the negotiations, EAM S Jaishankar said "in the United States", driving home his point that it wasn't American intervention that led to a pause.

"They (vice-president Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio) were talking to us and to Pakistanis as indeed were other countries. The US was not alone. When there is a conflict, it's natural for countries to call up and indicate their concerns..., but the cessation of firing was something negotiated directly between India and Pakistan. We told everybody that if Pakistanis want to stop firing, their general has to call us and say that. And that's what happened," Jaishankar said. He added that India is ready to discuss issue of terrorism with Pakistan and reiterated New Delhi's point on the Kashmir issue that it will only negotiate the return of POK to India.

Jaishankar said Operation Sindoor continues because of its clear message that if there are more terror acts like Pahalgam, India will hit terrorists. "If the terrorists are in Pakistan we will hit them where they are... So, there is a message in continuing the operation but continuing the operation is not the same as firing on each other," he said.

On the religious profiling of Pahalgam attack victims, Jaishankar said, "Pakistani leadership, especially their army chief, is driven by an extreme religious outlook... So, there is clearly some connect between the views that were expressed and the behaviour that was done."

Foreign secretary Vikram Misri, too, had earlier drawn a link between the religious profiling by terrorists and Pakistan army chief Asim Munir's anti-India speech on April 16 in which he had stressed the differences between Hindus and Muslims.

The minister warned against falling for the narrative that Pakistan does not know what is going on. "Most notorious terrorists on UN sanctions list are in Pakistan. They operate in big cities, in daylight. Their addresses are known. Their activities are known. Their mutual contacts are known. So let's not pretend that Pakistan is not involved. The state is involved. The army is up to its neck in it," he added.