‘Astonished by your question’: Jaishankar dismisses nuclear war fears between India, Pakistan during Operation Sindoor

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar issued a fresh clarification on Monday in response to questions about an impending ‘nuclear war between India and Pakistan. The remarks also came amid continued American claims that President Donald Trump had ‘averted nuclear war’ between India and Pakistan — with Jaishankar noting that he was ‘frankly astonished’ by such questions during a recent interview. The EAM noted that there had been a tendency to link everything in “our part of the world” to a “nuclear problem” in apparent criticism of the West.

“Very, very far away. I’m frankly astonished by your question. At no point was a nuclear level reached. There is a narrative as if everything that happens in our part of the world leads directly to a nuclear problem. That disturbs me a lot because it encourages terrible activities like terrorism,” he told German newspaper FAZ.

His remarks came when asked if India was able to convince its partners about the link between Pakistan and the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack. The top official reiterated that ‘anyone who was not blind’ could see that terrorist organisation were openly operating from the cities and towns of Pakistan.

“The UN Security Council terror list is full of Pakistani names and places, and these are the very places we have targeted. So please don’t think that something is only going on behind the scenes. In Pakistan, terrorism is a very open business. A business that is supported, financed, organized and used by the state. And by their military,” Jaishankar added.

The external affairs minister was in Berlin on the third and final leg of his three-nation tour of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.
On India’s response following the Pahalgam terror attack, Jaishankar said New Delhi sent a clear signal to the terrorists that there is a price to be paid for carrying out such attacks.
“The firing was then started by the Pakistani military. We fired back in self-defense and once the Pakistanis understood that they were taking a harmful course, we were able to stop firing,” he said.
“This situation has not changed for two weeks, that is the status,” he said on the May 10 understanding reached between Indian and Pakistani militaries on stopping military actions.

(With inputs from agencies)