New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday asserted that at no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage of trade with halting of Operation Sindoor, and said there was no call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump between April 22 and June 17.
Jaishankar referred to the two phone calls between Trump and Modi, with the first one being on April 22, when the US President conveyed sympathies for the Pahalgam terror attack, and the second one on June 17, when he called the prime minister to explain that he could not meet him in Canada.
Intervening in the special discussion in Lok Sabha on ‘India’s strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam’, the senior BJP leader also said the result of India’s diplomacy post-Pahalgam attack was that only three out of 190 nations, which are part of the UN, opposed Operation Sindoor.
There was overwhelming support that the country which has been attacked has the right to defend itself, he said.
Jaishankar said India’s military action against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack marked a “new normal” in combating cross-border terrorism with a five-point approach that included firm response to terrorist acts, not yielding to nuclear blackmail and blood and water cannot flow together.
Jaishankar also questioned Congress’ past approach to China, saying it promoted the idea of “Chindia” to highlight shared interests.
“In 2005, China was designated a strategic partner during Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s visit. There is a famous concept called Chindia, a belief that China and India have common interests, and the main proponent of Chindia is the party spokesperson of the people opposite,” he said.
Jaishankar said he visited China to clearly convey India’s stand on de-escalation, trade restrictions, and terrorism, not for the Olympics or secret deals.
“Some mention was made about visits, including my visit. Yes, I went to China. I went to China to make our position very clear about de-escalation, about trade restrictions, and about terrorism. I did not go to China for the Olympics. I did not go to China for secret agreements.”
Jaishankar also took a swipe at Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying he decided to get a briefing from the Chinese Ambassador when “our military was confronting the Chinese military in Doklam”.
“The very people today who are cautioning us on China are the people who allowed 3G and 4G to come from China,” he said
It was the Modi government which made sure that there was a Made in India 5G, Jaishankar added.
“We also heard from one of the early speakers that we are now facing a two-front, and that the Leader of Opposition has been warning us about a two-front. Now all I can say — the person who said it and maybe the Leader of Opposition must have missed their history lesson as well,” he said.
“The two-front started because of something called PoK. PoK was created in 1948-49 by the government of this country by not completing the job of what was to be done.
“The two-front started in 1963, when the Shaksgam Valley was ceded by Pakistan to China as a result of an agreement. Then in 1966, the Karakoram Highway was agreed upon, which took 20 years, and was completed in 1986,” he said.
Narrating the events during the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, Jaishankar said that on May 9, US Vice President J D Vance called the prime minister, warning of Pakistan’s massive attack in the next few hours, he said.
“PM Modi made it very clear that if that happens, it would be met with an appropriate response from our side. That massive attack took place, and it was foiled by our armed forces.
“On May 10, we received phone calls sharing the impression of other countries that Pakistan was ready to cease the fighting. Our position was that if Pakistan was ready, we needed to get this as a request from the Pakistani side through the DGMO channel. That is exactly how that request came,” Jaishankar said.
“I want to make two things very clear. One, at no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage with trade and what was going on.
“Secondly, there was no call between the prime minister and President Trump from April 22 — when President Trump called up to convey his sympathy — till June 17, when he called up the PM who was in Canada to explain why he could not meet,” he said.
A combative Jaishankar also took on the previous Congress governments on a range of issues, including 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and policy on China as well as Pakistan, but the major highlight of his nearly 40-minute address was his articulation of the new normal in combating cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
“The challenge of cross-border terrorism continues but Operation Sindoor marks a new phase. There is now a new normal. The new normal has five points,” Jaishankar said.
Explaining the new normal, he said, “One — terrorists will not be treated as proxies, two — cross-border terrorism will get an appropriate response, three — terror and talks are not possible together and there will only be talks on terror, four — not yielding to nuclear blackmail, and finally — terror and good neighbourliness cannot co-exist, blood and water cannot flow together. This is our position.”
The external affairs minister also called for a united approach within India in dealing with terrorism, saying it was best reflected when parliamentary delegations visited various countries to apprise them of Operation Sindoor and India’s policy on terrorism.
Jaishankar also pointed out that The Resistance Front (TRF) group has been designated as a global terror organisation by the US due to Indian diplomacy.
During Jaishankar’s address, Home Minister Amit Shah intervened twice to slam the opposition benches.
He hit out at the Congress for not trusting the statement of the external affairs minister on Operation Sindoor and instead believing US President Donald Trump, and said that is why it is sitting in the opposition and will remain there for 20 more years.
Talking about the post-Pahalgam actions of the government, Jaishankar said the Cabinet Committee on Security had decided that the Indus Waters Treaty would be held in abeyance until Pakistan abjures its support for terrorism, along with a host of other steps.
Jaishankar also questioned the Opposition parties, asking if any of them had ever imagined that terror hubs like Bahawalpur and Muridke could be hit the way they were during Operation Sindoor.
Jaishankar’s remarks came after Congress’ Deputy Leader in the House, Gaurav Gogoi, slammed the government over Trump’s claim made “26 times” that he used trade to bring about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
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