Tahawwur Rana, TRF terror tag: S Jaishankar's response to failed diplomacy jabs

India Today

5 days ago

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday cited India's major diplomatic victories, including the extradition of the 26/11 attacks plotter Tahawwur Rana to India and the designation of The Resistance Front (TRF) - the group behind the Pahalgam terror attack - as he highlighted New Delhi's zero-tolerance approach towards cross-border terrorism.Speaking during the Operation Sindoor debate in the Lok Sabha, Jaishankar slammed the Opposition, saying those who believed that inaction was the best response after the 26/11 terror attacks were questioning why Operation Sindoor was stopped.advertisementHe recalled Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar's past remarks about trying to defend the TRF and getting the terror group excluded from discussions and statements.
"When the Security Council was debating this matter on April 25, the TRF had by then twice claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan came to the defence of the TRF. Pakistan tried to have any mention of the TRF excluded from the discussions. In fact, the Pakistani Foreign Minister even told his Parliament that it (exclusion) was a great diplomatic achievement," he said."Thanks to our foreign diplomacy, the TRF has been designated as a global terrorist organisation by the United States. And the very same Pakistani Foreign Minister, who took so much pride in defending the TRF, is now saying, 'Well, if the US has done this, we accept it'," he added.Jaishankar asserted that at no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage of trade with Operation Sindoor and the request for halting the military action came from the Pakistani side through the DGMO channel."I want to make two things very clear. 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 (Donald) 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, explained why he could not meet him," he said.Jaishankar also said the result of India's diplomacy following the Pahalgam attack was that only three out of 190 nations which are part of the UN opposed Operation Sindoor. "There was an overwhelming support that the country which has been attacked has the right to defend itself," he said.The External Affairs Minister said it was important to send a clear, strong and resolute message after the Pahalgam attack as "our red lines had been crossed and we had to make it very apparent that there would be serious consequences".advertisement"When Operation Sindoor was launched, we put out our objectives that it was hitting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. Our actions were focussed, measured and non-escalatory and we were living up to the commitment that those responsible for those attacks will be held responsible," he said.Talking about the government's diplomatic offensive against Pakistan, Jaishankar said the Cabinet Committee on Security had decided that the Indus Waters Treaty would be paused until Islamabad stopped its support for terrorism."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," he said.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.The Congress has been repeatedly attacking the government over Trump's remarks.OPERATION SINDOOR, TRUMP'S CEASEFIRE CLAIMSSince May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim on several occasions that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan.advertisementHowever, India has been consistently maintaining that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the DGMOs of the two militaries.India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and POK in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an understanding to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.- Ends(with inputs from PTI)