AI Generated Summary
- Speaking in New York during a public dialogue with Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad, Jaishankar issued a strong warning that India would not allow the threat of nuclear escalation to deter it from defending its sovereignty or punishing cross-border terrorism.
- as part of a broader diplomatic tour and is scheduled to attend the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Washington, D.
- Tracing the roots of the problem back to the very birth of independent India, Jaishankar noted that cross-border terrorism has been a reality since 1947, beginning with proxy and tribal invasions into Kashmir.
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has described the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam as a calculated act of economic sabotage, aimed at crippling Kashmir’s tourism sector and inciting religious discord. Speaking in New York during a public dialogue with Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad, Jaishankar issued a strong warning that India would not allow the threat of nuclear escalation to deter it from defending its sovereignty or punishing cross-border terrorism.
The conversation took place at Newsweek‘s headquarters at the One World Trade Center, adjacent to the 9/11 Memorial—a fitting venue given the theme of terrorism and global security.
“The Pahalgam attack was economic warfare,” Jaishankar stated, referencing the deadly assault that claimed 26 civilian lives. “It was meant to destroy tourism in Kashmir, which is the economic lifeline of the region. And it sought to provoke communal violence by asking victims to reveal their religion before being killed.”
India, he said, reached a turning point in the wake of the attack. “There was a sense across the nation that enough is enough,” he said. “We could not allow terrorists to operate with impunity simply because they were based across the border.”
In response to the attack—claimed by The Resistance Front, a known front for Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba—India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Jaishankar clarified that these were not hidden outfits, but well-known terrorist organizations with recognizable headquarters in urban Pakistani towns. “Everybody knows where they are. And those are the facilities we hit.”
During his remarks, Jaishankar was unequivocal: India will no longer be constrained by the longstanding nuclear narrative that has shaped its dealings with Pakistan. “We’ve heard this for too long—that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers, so we should hold back even when provoked. That era is over,” he said. “There will be no impunity for terrorists, and no free passes for the states that support them.”
The minister also inaugurated an exhibition at the United Nations titled The Human Cost of Terrorism, organized by India’s Permanent Mission to the UN. The exhibition seeks to underscore the widespread devastation caused by terrorism, particularly acts backed by state actors. “Terrorism is a threat to all of humanity,” Jaishankar emphasized. “No nation should ever use it as a tool of policy—it always backfires.”
Tracing the roots of the problem back to the very birth of independent India, Jaishankar noted that cross-border terrorism has been a reality since 1947, beginning with proxy and tribal invasions into Kashmir. He also recalled some of India’s most traumatic attacks, including the 2001 Parliament assault and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
In a Q&A following the talk, Jaishankar was asked about former U.S. President Donald Trump’s past claim that trade diplomacy helped prevent a recent India-Pakistan conflict. The minister dismissed the idea that this had any bearing on current trade talks. “Our trade negotiators are doing their job professionally—focusing on numbers, products, and terms. That’s what they should be doing,” he said.
He also shared a behind-the-scenes account of the tense lead-up to the military response following the Pahalgam attack. Jaishankar recounted a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. Vice President JD Vance on May 9, in which Vance conveyed threats of a “massive” Pakistani assault. “The Prime Minister was unmoved,” Jaishankar said. “He made it clear there would be a response—and we delivered it swiftly.”
The following day, according to Jaishankar, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted him, indicating that Pakistan was ready for dialogue. “That’s what happened,” he said. “And I leave the rest to your judgment.”
Jaishankar is in the U.S. as part of a broader diplomatic tour and is scheduled to attend the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
