At Quad, EAM Jaishankar Reiterates Indias Right To Defend Against Terrorism, Flays Pakistan
'India has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and we will exercise that right," he said with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Ministers Penny Wong of Australia and Takeshi Iwaya of Japan standing beside him. Jaishankar's statement came hours after Rajnath Singh spoke to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and explained India's actions during Operation Sindoor.
Just finished a very productive meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers in Washington DC. Discussed how to make Quad more focused and impactful on contemporary opportunities and challenges.
Today's gathering will strengthen strategic stability in the Indo - Pacific and keep it free… pic.twitter.com/M9Vg5NaxMR — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 1, 2025
This is the first Quad ministerial where the four foreign ministers will be meeting together after the heinous Pahalgam massacre on April 22 by Pakistan-backed terrorists and India's decisive 'Operation Sindoor' against them.
"We expect our quad partners to understand and appreciate that," said Jaishankar. Referring to the Pahalgam attack, EAM Jaishankar said, "A word about terrorism in the light of our recent experience: The world must display zero tolerance. Victims and perpetrators must never be equated".
Counter-terrorism is one of the elemental items in the Quad agenda. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to host the summit of the Quad leaders later this year with the US President Donald Trump and Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia and Shigeru Ishiba of Japan.
"We have some proposals on how to make that productive," Jaishankar said. "I'm sure so do our partners, [and] we will discuss and I'm sure we can agree on going about it".
"A lot is happening in the world, and I'm sure that our exchange of views will be very valuable for all of us," he added.
The Quad is committed to a rules-based international order and "it is essential that nations of the Indo-Pacific have the freedom of choice, so essential to make right decisions," he said.
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Indian Express
33 minutes ago
- Indian Express
We expect Quad to understand our position on terror: Jaishankar
At the first Quad foreign ministers' meeting after Operation Sindoor in May, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that India expects its Quad partners to understand and appreciate that the country has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and it will exercise that right. 'A word about terrorism in the light of our recent experience — the world must display zero tolerance. Victims and perpetrators must never be equated. And India has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that,' Jaishankar said in remarks to the media ahead of the meeting in Washington DC with his counterparts from the US, Australia and Japan. On April 22, 26 people were killed in a terror attack in Pahalgam. On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, striking terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which was followed by four days of military confrontation between India and Pakistan. Jaishankar later described the Quad meeting as 'very productive' and said they 'discussed how to make the Quad more focused and impactful on contemporary opportunities and challenges'. 'Today's gathering will strengthen strategic stability in the Indo Pacific and keep it free and open,' he said. 'We are all committed to ensure a free and open Indo Pacific. To that end, our endeavours are devoted to promoting a rules-based international order. It is essential that nations of the Indo Pacific have the freedom of choice, so essential to make right decisions on development and security,' he said. Jaishankar said that in the last few months, 'we have made significant progress' in Quad initiatives, including 'maritime domain, logistics, education and political coordination'. He said the Quad is about 'deepening our convergence and expanding our common ground'. The working of the Quad is being made more efficient by streamlining the working groups, and a more cohesive, nimble and focused Quad will help deliver better, he said. He added that India plans to host the next Quad Summit. This is Jaishankar's second Quad foreign ministers' meeting this year — the first was on January 21, a day after US President Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Quad is a 'very important partnership that has developed over the years and… really taken wing in the last few months'. He said he was focussed on 'diversifying the global supply chain of critical minerals, not just access to the raw material, but also access to the ability to process and refine it to usable material'. 'It's critical for all technologies and for all industries across the board, and so having a diverse and reliable global supply chain is just one example of many that we can focus on and build upon,' Rubio said. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the importance of the Quad partnership 'is highlighted by the urgency of the strategic challenges that we all face'. 'Unfortunately, we meet in the backdrop of conflict and of escalating competition. So it has never been more important for us to harness collective strength, peace, for stability, for prosperity in the Indo Pacific and for all our peoples,' she said. 'The Indo Pacific region, where our four countries are located, is the growth engine of the global economy, accounting for more than half of the world's population… peace and stability of the Indo Pacific region are essential for the prosperity of international community,' Japan Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said. Jaishankar also met Iwaya and Rubio separately for bilateral meetings. Earlier in the day, Jaishankar called the Pahalgam attack 'an act of economic warfare'. 'It was meant to destroy tourism in Kashmir, which was the mainstay of the economy. It was also meant to provoke religious violence because people were asked to identify their faith before they were killed,' he said in an interview to Newsweek. 'So we decided that we cannot let terrorists function with impunity. The idea that they are on that side of the border, and that, therefore, sort of prevents retribution, I think, that's a proposition that needs to be challenged and that is what we did,' he said. He said Pakistan-based terrorists carrying out attacks against India don't operate in secret. These are terror organisations which have the 'equivalent of their corporate headquarters in the populated towns of Pakistan,' he said. 'Everybody knows what is the headquarters of organisation A and organisation B and those are the buildings, the headquarters that India destroyed' in Op Sindoor, he said. 'We are very clear that there will be no impunity for terrorists, that we will not deal with them any longer as proxies and spare the government which supports and finances and, in many ways, motivates them. We will not allow nuclear blackmail to prevent us from responding,' he said. Responding to a question on US President Donald Trump's claim that he used trade to stop the India-Pakistan conflict, and whether that has affected trade negotiations between Delhi and Washington, Jaishankar said: 'No, I don't think so. I think the trade people are doing what the trade people should be doing, which is negotiate with numbers and lines and products and do their trade-offs. I think they are very professional and very, very focused about it.' He said there is a national consensus in India that 'our dealings with Pakistan are bilateral'. 'And in this particular case, I can tell you that I was in the room when Vice President (J D) Vance spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi on the night of May 9, saying that the Pakistanis would launch a massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things,' he said. 'And the PM was impervious to what the Pakistanis were threatening to do. On the contrary, he indicated that there would be a response from us. This was the night before, and the Pakistanis did attack us massively that night, we responded very quickly thereafter,' Jaishankar said. 'And the next morning, Mr Rubio called me up and said the Pakistanis were ready to talk. So I can only tell you from my personal experience what happened. The rest I leave to you,' he said.
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
Expect Quad to appreciate India stand, says EAM
NEW DELHI: India will exercise its right to defend its citizens from terrorism , and it expects Quad partners to understand and appreciate that, external affairs minister S Jaishankar told his Quad counterparts in Washington. Going into the Quad foreign ministers' meeting - ahead of the summit that India will host later this year - the minister drew attention to the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack, saying the world must display zero tolerance. "Victims and perpetrators must never be equated. And India has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that," the minister said in his opening remarks. tnn Won't deal with terrorists as proxies: EAM Victims and perpetrators must never be equated, EAM Jaishankar said while speaking alongside American secretary of state Marco Rubio and his Australian and Japanese counterparts, Penny Wong and Takeshi Iwaya, respectively. Jaishankar's comments about India's expectations from Quad partners on the issue of terror are significant in the light of recent remarks by US President Donald Trump that seemed to draw an equivalence between India and Pakistan. Also, while Quad countries individually condemned the attack, India would have ideally liked them to do so in a joint statement. Earlier, in a conversation with US magazine Newsweek, the minister bluntly said India would not let the West's fear of a nuclear conflagration constrain its response to future Pakistan-backed terror attacks. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo "We are very clear there will be no impunity for terrorists, that we will not deal with them any longer as proxies and spare the govt which supports and finances and, in many ways, motivates them. We will not allow nuclear blackmail to prevent us from responding," he said. "We've also heard this for too long... therefore the other guys will come and do horrible things, but you must not do anything because it gets the world worried. Now, we are not going to fall for that. If he is going to come and do things, we are going to go there and hit the people who did this. So no yielding to nuclear blackmail, no impunity to terrorists, no more free pass that they are proxies. And we will do what we have to do to defend our people," Jaishankar said. Speaking about Quad, the minister said it was committed to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. "To that end, our endeavours are devoted to promoting a rules-based international order. It is essential that nations of the Indo-Pacific have the freedom of choice, so essential to make right decisions on development and security," he said. Even as India and others deny that Quad is a security alliance, both Beijing and Moscow see the grouping's primary objective as containment of China. In his remarks, The EAM highlighted progress in Quad initiatives, including in the maritime domain, logistics, education and political coordination. "India plans to host the next Quad summit. We have some proposals on how to make that productive. I am sure, so do our partners," he added.
India Gazette
40 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Jaishankar calls India-US defence ties 'most consequential' during Pentagon meet with US Defence Secretary
Washington DC [US], July 2 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon, where he highlighted the strategic importance of India-US defence ties, describing them as 'one of the most consequential pillars' of the bilateral relationship. Speaking during the meeting at the Pentagon, Jaishankar said, 'I am here with you at the Pentagon because we believe that our defence partnership is, today, truly one of the most consequential.' The meeting comes on the heels of the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting (QFMM) in Washington, marking another key engagement in a series of high-level India-US interactions. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed enthusiasm about the growing defence partnership between the two countries. He highlighted the integration of US defence systems into India's armed forces and outlined the goal of expanding industrial cooperation and co-production networks. 'The US is very pleased for the successful integration of many US defence items... building on this progress, we hope we can complete several major pending US defence sales to India, expand our shared defence industrial cooperation and co-production networks, strengthen interoperability... and formally sign a new framework of US-India major defence partnership,' Hegseth said. He added, 'We are eager to work alongside you to realise our shared goals. They are deep and ongoing. The visit today marks an important milestone in the ongoing series of high-level engagements between our two great countries.' During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in February this year, he and then-US President Donald Trump announced plans to sign a new ten-year Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership. Both leaders had also welcomed the significant integration of US-origin defence equipment into India's military inventory. This includes platforms such as the C-130J Super Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III, P-8I Poseidon aircraft, CH-47F Chinooks, MH-60R Seahawks, AH-64E Apaches, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, M777 howitzers, and MQ-9B drones. Additionally, the two sides had announced plans to pursue new procurements and co-production agreements for Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missiles and Stryker Infantry Combat Vehicles in India to rapidly meet India's defence requirements this year. (ANI)
