New Delhi: The clashes that took place recently between India and Pakistan were not about Kashmir but were triggered because of the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said.
During his interaction at the DGAP or German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, the minister noted that describing the recent developments in Kashmir as “conflict” would be like putting the perpetrators of terror attacks and victims in the same bracket. “First of all, this was not a conflict in Kashmir, but a terrorist attack.
“A terrorist attack, which is part of a pattern that not only targets Jammu and Kashmir, but also other parts of India. It’s very important to clarify because when you call it a conflict, you are putting the perpetrator of the terror attack and the victim, without meaning to, in the same bracket,” Jaishankar noted.
‘No country would approve terrorism’
He added, “When it comes to terrorism, there’s no country which would say I approve of what is done or no country which would say I don’t condemn what was done,” Jaishankar noted adding that Germany too condemned the terror attack and supported India’s right to defend itself against any act of terrorism.”
Earlier on April 22, as many as 26 people were killed and several others were injured in a terror attack in Pahalgam, leading to shockwaves across the country. With The Resistance Force (TRF), the proxy group of Pakistani terror organization LeT found to be behind the attack, India on May 7 launched air strikes against nine locations of terror groups belonging to LeT, HM, and JeM. Following this Pakistan tried to target India’s various installations but were given a befitting reply by Indian armed forces to Pakistan.
After the ceasefire was announced, Jaishankar started remaining in touch with foreign countries, explaining India’s position and further revealing Pakistan’s encouragement for terror activities. India also formed seven groups of MPs from all parties who have been asked to visit various countries and explain India’s position.
