Asked if the world has to thank the US for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said he would thank the Indian forces because they made Pakistan reach out and say "we are ready to stop".
Dr Jaishankar made the remarks during an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Asked if the world has America to thank for the ceasefire, the External Affairs Minister replied, "The cessation of firing was agreed between the military commanders of both sides through direct contact. The morning before, we effectively hit and incapacitated Pakistan's main airbases and air defence system. So, who should I thank for the cessation of hostilities? I thank the Indian military because it was the Indian military action that made Pakistan say: We are ready to stop."
On May 10, India and Pakistan agreed on a ceasefire after three days of cross-border conflict. India on May 7 carried out airstrikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 innocents dead. India stressed that Operation Sindoor was aimed at destroying terror bases, but Pakistan responded by firing hundreds of drones at India's military installations and civilian areas. In retaliation, India targeted Pakistan's military installation, inflicting heavy damage. Shortly after, Pakistan military authorities reached out to their Indian counterparts and a ceasefire was agreed upon.
While the Donald Trump administration has claimed credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan -- and Islamabad has thanked Washington, DC too -- New Delhi has maintained that the US role was restricted to expressing concern. In another interview, Dr Jaishankar said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance had reached out, but their role was limited to expressing concern. "We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the United States but to everyone, saying if the Pakistanis want to stop fighting, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their general has to call up our general and say this. And that is what happened," he said.
Asked if the ceasefire has restored the situation before the conflict, Dr Jaishankar said, "We have sent a clear signal to the terrorists that there is a price to be paid for carrying out such attacks, as they did on us in Kashmir in April. The firing was then started by the Pakistani military. We fired back in self-defence and once the Pakistanis understood that they were taking a harmful course, we were able to stop firing. This situation has not changed for two weeks, that is the status."
The External Affairs Minister was also asked, "How far away was the world from a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan?" He said he was "astonished" by the question. "Very, very far away. I'm frankly astonished by your question. We have terrorist targets. Those were very measured, carefully considered and non-escalating steps. After that, the Pakistani military opened fire on us. We were able to show them that we could disable their air defense systems. Then the firing stopped at their request. At no point was a nuclear level reached." "There is a narrative as if everything that happens in our part of the world leads directly to a nuclear problem. That disturbs me a lot because it encourages terrible activities like terrorism. If anything, much more is happening with the nuclear issue in your part of the world," he replied.
