External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the only issue left to discuss with Pakistan on Kashmir is the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to India. He also made it clear that the Indus Waters Treaty will stay suspended until Pakistan stops supporting cross-border terrorism for good.
“We are open to discussing the return of PoK with Pakistan. The government’s position is very clear,” he told the media at the inauguration of the Honduras embassy.
“That (bilateralism) has been a national consensus for years, and there is absolutely no change. The prime minister made it very clear that talks with Pakistan will be only on terror. Pakistan has a list of terrorists that needs to be handed over, and they have to shut down the terrorists’ infrastructure. They know what to do. We are prepared to discuss with them what is to be done about terrorism. Those are the talks which are feasible,” said Jaishankar.
Reaffirming India’s stand, Jaishankar said ties with Pakistan will remain strictly bilateral and focused on tackling cross-border terrorism. He also urged Pakistan to hand over terrorists involved in attacks against India.
This comes after US President Donald Trump offered to mediate on Kashmir, an offer India has firmly rejected.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday again claimed credit for helping broker the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, saying the dispute between the two countries has been “settled”.
Speaking to American troops at a military base in Qatar during his Gulf tour, Trump said he ‘helped’ resolve the issue but stopped short of taking full credit.
“I don’t want to say I did, but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week,” he said.
Operation Sindoor and rising tensions
On May 8, Indian forces launched targeted strikes on terror camps in Pakistan, killing top leaders of groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. The strikes hit nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including major LeT and Jaish bases in Bahawalpur and Muridke.
This escalated tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. A shaken Pakistan tried to respond with missile and drone attacks, but all were successfully intercepted by Indian forces.
India’s response to Pakistan’s provocations
After repeated provocations from Pakistan, India hit back hard. The Indian Air Force destroyed key Pakistani military assets, including airbases and radar sites, while avoiding the Chinese-supplied defence systems deployed by Pakistan.
