Jaishankar: Op. Sindoor “New Normal”, Reiterates India’s Red Lines On Terrorism

Operation Sindoor was a “new normal” in India’s anti-terror response, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha on Monday.  He was speaking during the special debate on the military operation launched by India in the wake of the Pahalgam massacre.

“I think our objectives are very clear. We wanted to send a message to the terrorists, do not continue the support for terrorism. And on the morning of May 7th, that message went home loud and clear,” he said, referring to India’s strike on terrorist targets.

After Pahalgam, India had already adopted a pro-active policy in the UN Security Council, where Pakistan is a non-permanent member.

“If you look at the Security Council statement of 25th April the members condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack, they affirmed terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security … and the Council underlined the need to hold the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors … accountable.”

He noted that Indian diplomacy also ensured The Resistance Front,  which claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack and which Pakistan had defended, was designated a global terrorist organisation by the US Government.

He ticked off the fact that the Quad and BRICS both condemned the Pahalgam massacre, with President Putin saying “This brutal crime has no justification whatsoever.”

He confirmed that no less than US Vice President JD Vance had called up Prime Minister Modi on 9th May, warning of a “massive Pakistani attack in the next few hours,” to which the latter responded “If such an attack happens it would meet with an appropriate response from our side.”

On May 10th, India made it clear that if Pakistan wanted a ceasefire, that request must come through their DGMO and that was how the request came.

Jaishankar stressed on one point, “At no stage in any conversation with the US was there  any linkage with trade and what was going on. There was no talk between the prime minister and the president from the 22nd of April when Trump called to convey his sympathy and the 17th of June when he called up the prime minister in Canada to explain why he could not meet.”

He concluded by reiterating five the red lines laid down by the prime minister: terrorists will not be treated as proxies, cross-border terrorism will get an appropriate response, terror and talks not possible together, no yielding to nuclear blackmail and blood and water cannot flow together.