New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said that India had informed Pakistan in advance on May 7 before carrying out Operation Sindoor of attacking the terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
Speaking to reporters outside the new Honduras Embassy, which was inaugurated today, the EAM also said that India will only talk bilaterally with Pakistan, and that too only on the issue of fighting terrorism – in a rebuff to the US which has been offering to mediate between the two sides.
Jaishankar also reiterated that on the issue of Kashmir, India will only discuss with Pakistan the issue of “vacation of the illegally occupied part of Indian territory in POK”.
“Because even at the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying we are striking at terrorist infrastructure; we are not striking at the military, so the military has an option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take the good advice,” he said.
“Once they got hit as badly as they did, on the morning of May 10, and all of you have seen the satellite pictures which bring out very graphically how much damage we did. By the way the satellite pictures also bring out how little damage they did (to India), these pictures will tell you what a hit they took.
“The same people who were not willing to stand down on 7th May are willing to talk and stand down the 10th of May; it is very clear who wanted the cessation of firing,” the EAM said.
On dealings with Pakistan, he said they will be purely bilateral: “Where our dealings with Pakistan are concerned, they will be bilateral and strictly bilateral.
“That is a national consensus for many years, and there is absolutely no change in that consensus that dealings with Pakistan will be bilateral.”
On talks with Pakistan, he said, “I think the PM made it very clear, that the only talks with Pakistan will be on terror; that Pakistan has a list of terrorists who need to be handed over, they have to shut down the terrorist infrastructure, they know what to do.
“We are prepared to discuss with them on what is to be done on terrorism, those are the talks which are feasible.”
On the Indus Waters Treaty, he said:
“The Indus Waters Treaty is held in abeyance and will continue to be held in abeyance until cross border terrorism by Pakistan is credibly and irrevocably stopped.”
On the Kashmir issue being raked up by Pakistan, and also by the US, he said;
“Sometimes the Kashmir issue has been brought up. Again the only thing that remains to be discussed on Kashmir, is the vacation of the illegally occupied Indian territory, in POK. We are open to discussing that, with Pakistan,” he added.
“We have achieved the goals that we set out to do, by destroying the terrorist infrastructure, in Bahawalpur, Muridke, Muzaffarabad and other places,.”
UNI
