"Pak Was Informed 30 Minutes Later": S Jaishankar's Op Sindoor Timeline

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar today set the record straight about when information on 'Operation Sindoor' reached Pakistan. He said Islamabad was informed thirty minutes after the Armed Forces struck terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7. "Pakistan was informed 30 minutes after terror hubs were struck," he clarified during a Consultative Committee Meeting (CCM) of the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi this morning.

The Union Minister, through the statement, has rebutted Congress's charge that Pakistan was tipped off before the operation. "This is a dishonest misrepresentation of facts," he said.

He stressed that Pakistan was relayed the message after a release by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on the operation. "The Foreign Secretary was briefed on the 1.30 am operation, which was followed by a PIB statement. Thereafter, the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) told his counterpart in Pakistan about the operation."

Rahul Gandhi has been questioning the External Affairs Minister on 'Operation Sindoor', which was launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Claiming that India's foreign policy had "collapsed", he asked Mr Jaishankar why "India was hyphenated with Pakistan?".

The CCM panel was also informed that, apart from three countries, no one had criticised India's position against Pakistan.

On May 7, India woke up to the news of "focused, measured and non-escalatory" strikes of the Armed Forces on the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Nine terror launchpads were targeted within 25 minutes in the operation. The mission was named 'Operation Sindoor' - a codename to avenge the widows of the April 22 attack, wherein 26 civilians - all men - were killed in cold blood by terrorists linked to an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The precision terror strikes on terror launch pads were met with Pakistani aggression. The Pakistani military tried to target several cities in India using drones and other munitions, which were "repulsed" by the Indian forces.

After four days of fighting, India and Pakistan reached an agreement to stop firing on May 10. Within hours, however, the deal was breached by Pakistan. It was responded to with a stern warning by the Armed Forces the next day: "India would retaliate fiercely to any violation in future".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, in his first Mann Ki Baat address since the launch of Operation Sindoor, showed pictures of the terror sites that were hit by India.

"Operation Sindoor is the picture of our resolve, courage and a changing India," he said.

Meanwhile, India has formed seven all-party delegations, which have been travelling to the capitals of various countries to explain its position on terrorism emanating from Pakistan against the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attack and 'Operation Sindoor'.