"India Will Never Countenance Perpetrators Of Evil Being...": S Jaishankar

India will never countenance "perpetrators of evil" being put on par with its victims and expects partners to understand its policy of "zero tolerance" against terrorism, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday during extensive talks with his British counterpart David Lammy.

S Jaishankar's remarks, which seemed to be an attempt to send an unambiguous message to the global community, came against the backdrop of unease in New Delhi over several countries hyphenating India and Pakistan following their four-day clashes last month.

Hours after landing in Delhi this morning, Lammy called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who appreciated the UK's support for India's fight against cross-border terrorism.

Following the meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the British foreign secretary strongly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, while PM Modi underscored the need for a decisive international action against terrorism and those who support it.

"Appreciate his substantive contribution to the remarkable progress in our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, further strengthened by the recently concluded FTA. Value UK's support for India's fight against cross-border terrorism," the prime minister said in a social media post.

PM Modi described the recent conclusion of the India-UK free trade pact and double contribution convention (DCC) as a "strategic milestone" that will unlock potential of the partnership in diverse sectors, according to the MEA.

It said the prime minister conveyed his warm greetings to his UK counterpart Sir Keir Starmer and reiterated the invitation for his visit to India at the "earliest mutual convenience".

In his televised opening remarks at the meeting with Lammy, S Jaishankar thanked the UK for its strong condemnation of the "barbaric" Pahalgam terror attack and London's solidarity and support to New Delhi's fight against terrorism.

"We practise a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and expect our partners to understand it, and we will never countenance perpetrators of evil being put at par with its victims," he said.

It is understood that the Indian side explained India's challenge of dealing with cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

The UK was among countries which were in touch with both India and Pakistan in an attempt to de-escalate their tensions during their military conflict from May 7-10.

Lammy paid a two-day visit to Islamabad from May 16 during which he welcomed the May 10 understanding between India and Pakistan to stop the military actions.

After the meeting, the British foreign secretary said: "We are advancing a new era in UK-India relations -- boosting trade and technology, tackling the climate crisis and providing greater security for our people." In his remarks, Jaishankar described the recent conclusion of the India-UK free trade agreement and the double contribution convention as "truly a milestone which will not only propel our two-way trade and investment but will also have a positive effect on other strategic aspects of our bilateral ties".

As Lammy landed in Delhi, a British readout quoted him as saying: "We're building a modern partnership with India for a new global era." It said he will also welcome progress in "our migration partnership, including ongoing work on safeguarding citizens and securing borders in both countries".

The MEA said the two ministers reviewed the overall bilateral ties and expressed satisfaction at the progress in diverse sectors, including trade, defence and security, technology, health, green energy and climate, education, and people-to-people ties under the India-UK comprehensive strategic partnership.

Lammy's visit provided a valuable opportunity to sustain the high-level engagement and to further consolidate the partnership as both sides agreed to continue working closely to advance their shared objectives, it added.

Addressing migration remains a top priority for the government and Lammy is focused on working internationally with global partners to secure the UK's borders at home, the British readout said.

"India was one of my first visits as foreign secretary, and since then has been a key partner in the delivery of our 'Plan for Change'. Our relationship has gone from strength to strength -- securing our future technologies, adding over 25 billion pounds in trade every year between our countries and deepening the strong links between our cultures and people," he said.

Lammy said the signing of the free trade agreement with India is just the start of the ambitions for the two countries.

"We're building a modern partnership with India for a new global era. We want to go even further to foster an even closer relationship and cooperate when it comes to delivering growth, fostering innovative technology, tackling the climate crisis and delivering our migration priorities, and providing greater security for our people," he was quoted in the readout.

The British foreign secretary was also scheduled to meet leading figures in Indian business to discuss how both sides can unlock greater investment by Indian business in the UK.

In 2023-24, India was the UK's second largest source of investments in terms of number of projects for the fifth consecutive year.

In his remarks, Jaishankar listed various initiatives which were rolled out recently to bolster the ties. "Since your last visit to India, there have been significant initiatives which both of us have taken and those initiatives have progressed well." Jaishankar singled out the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) and said it will enable deeper collaboration in strategic technology sectors of AI, semiconductors, telecom, quantum, health-tech, bio-tech, critical minerals and advanced materials.

"We have also launched the strategic exports and technology cooperation dialogue, the first meeting of which was held, I believe, this week.

"This will enhance among others the TSI's effectiveness in promoting trade in critical and emerging technologies, including the resolution of relevant licensing or regulatory issues," he said.

Jaishankar also pointed to the UK-India infrastructure financial bridge and said it can unlock quality long-term capital flows from the United Kingdom to India, and that would surely contribute to our infrastructure development.

"There is very good collaboration in the education sector with many more universities, I believe, planning to establish their campuses in India, and on the people-to-people ties front, we had the privilege -- I myself had the honour - to open two new consulates in Manchester and Belfast," he said.

The overall focus of the talks was to further deepen and diversify India-UK partnership.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)