NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar issued a forceful warning to Pakistan, declaring that India will not hesitate to launch strikes against terror threats, regardless of where they originate. His remarks follow the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan, which ended under a ceasefire on May 10 after days of escalating violence triggered by a deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
“If they are deep in Pakistan, we will go deep into Pakistan,” Jaishankar told POLITICO in an interview during his official visit to Brussels for high-level trade talks with the European Union. The comment reflects one of New Delhi’s most uncompromising stances on cross-border terrorism in recent months.
Jaishankar’s remarks came nearly three weeks after India launched “Operation Sindoor,” a military response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians, mostly Hindus, dead. India accused Pakistan-backed militants of orchestrating the massacre, a charge Islamabad has denied. The conflict quickly escalated, involving missile exchanges, aerial dogfights, and targeted strikes on strategic installations.
According to POLITICO, the Indian Air Force carried out precision strikes on eight major Pakistani airfields. “The fighting stopped on the 10th for one reason and one reason only, which was that on the 10th morning, we hit these eight Pakistani airfields and disabled them,” Jaishankar said, noting that satellite imagery of the damage is publicly available. “You can look at those runways and hangars that have taken the hit.”
While both countries claimed victory, their narratives diverged. Pakistan alleged it downed several Indian jets, including a Rafale and a Mirage—claims India initially rejected. A senior Indian military official later acknowledged aircraft losses without detailing the number or models. POLITICO also reported that U.S. and French intelligence believe Chinese-supplied technology was used by Pakistan to shoot down at least one jet.
Pressed on the matter, Jaishankar declined to provide specifics but said the aircraft performance review would be handled by the appropriate authorities. “As far as I’m concerned, how effective the Rafale was or frankly, how effective other systems were—to me, the proof of the pudding is the destroyed and disabled airfields on the Pakistani side,” he said.
Jaishankar strongly criticized Pakistan’s continued use of terrorism as what he described as an “instrument of state policy.” He claimed Pakistan is openly training thousands of terrorists and deploying them across the border. “We are not going to live with it. Our message to them is: if you continue the kind of barbaric acts that they did in April, then there will be retribution. And that retribution will target terrorist organizations and their leadership,” he stated.
When asked whether the conditions that led to the recent hostilities persist, Jaishankar affirmed they do. “If you call the commitment to terrorism a source of tension, it is,” he said, adding that India’s threshold for restraint has changed.
The ceasefire followed a request from Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), marking a temporary pause in a conflict that brought two nuclear-armed nations dangerously close to full-scale war.
Despite the ceasefire, India’s stance remains firm. Jaishankar’s message from Brussels serves as both a warning and a policy signal: India is prepared to act decisively to defend its sovereignty and citizens, regardless of international borders.
