India’s relations and dealings with Pakistan will be “strictly bilateral”, which is a national consensus for many years and there is “absolutely no change” in that consensus, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said .
Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of an event as reported by PTI, he also said the UN Security Council had underlined the need to hold the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack accountable, and on May 7 morning, “we held them accountable through the Operation Sindoor”.
India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure early on May 7 following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Pakistani actions were strongly responded to by the Indian side.
The hostilities ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions following talks between the Directors General of Military Operations of both sides on May 10.
“To me things are fairly clear. So, let me take this opportunity to spell out our position. One, where Pakistan is concerned, our relations, our dealings with them will be bilateral, and strictly bilateral.
“That is a national consensus for many years, and there is absolutely no change in that consensus that dealings with Pakistan will be bilateral,” Jaishankar said.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it “very clear” that any talks with Pakistan will be only on terror.
“…Pakistan has a list of terrorists, who need to be handed over. They have to shut down terrorist infrastructure, they know what to do,” the external affairs minister said.
