‘Can draw your conclusions….’: Jaishankar on China’s possible role in India, Pakistan conflict

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that many of the weapons used by Pakistan are of Chinese origin due to their close relationship. Jaishankar’s response came during an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, when asked about China’s possible role in the recent military conflict between Indian and Pakistani armed forces, post-April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed.

While interacting with the paper, the minister noted, “Many of the weapons used by Pakistan are of Chinese origin, and the two countries are very close. You can draw your conclusions from that.” When asked whether the recent conflict between India and Pakistan reached a point of nuclear escalation, the minister expressed his surprise. He noted that the West links anything that happens in South Asia with a nuclear crisis.

‘Targets were very measured and carefully considered’

“Frankly, I am surprised by your question. We have terrorist targets. Those targets were very measured, carefully considered, and non-escalation steps. Soon after, the Pakistani military opened fire on us. We showed them that we could destroy their air defence systems. Then the firing stopped at their request,” he added.

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The minister said, “The firing was agreed upon between the DGMOs of both countries through direct contact. The morning before, Indian armed forces effectively hit and incapacitated Pakistan’s main airbases and their air defence system. So, who should I thank for the cessation of conflicts? I thank the Indian armed forces because it was our military action that made Pakistan say that they were ready to stop.”

Notably, since the Pahalgam attack, tensions between India and Pakistan increased, after which India launched Operation Sindoor. Under this operation, India targeted as many as nine terrorist camps in Pakistan, after which Islamabad tried to target various important installations in India, only to be responded to strongly by Indian armed forces, before the declaration of the ceasefire.