India will not be blackmailed by nuclear threats or excuses for terror. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar put it bluntly in Manhattan. “We are not going to yield to nuclear blackmail that you know there could be escalation, and therefore we should not do anything,” he told Newsweek. His words come two months after the brutal Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir that left 26 people dead.
Jaishankar called the Pahalgam killing an “act of warfare” designed to break Kashmir’s backbone—its tourism economy. He made it clear India will not stand by while militants hide behind borders. “We decided that we cannot let terrorists function with impunity, the idea that they’re on that side of the border and that therefore sort of prevents retribution, I think is a proposition that needs to be challenged and that is what we did,” he said.
India’s battle with terror did not start yesterday. Jaishankar reminded the world that attacks from across the border have scarred India for decades, going back to Partition. “Now in our particular case, we’ve unfortunately had an experience of this. The experience has been very very intense for the last four decades but actually started from the time of our independence,” he told Newsweek. He pointed to the Parliament attack and Mumbai’s long night in 2008 as proof.
What happened behind closed doors during India-Pak conflict?
To the gathered diplomats, he made India’s expectation clear. “The message to the world has to be that there should be zero tolerance for terrorism, that there should be no circumstances, no excuse, no justification, under which you would allow, support, finance, sponsor terrorist acts.” He added, “Any state sponsorship must be exposed and must be counted.”
Jaishankar revealed more of what unfolded behind closed doors. He recalled how, just before India struck back, Pakistan threatened massive retaliation. “I can tell you that I was in the room when Vice President (JD) Vance spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi on the night of May 9, saying that the Pakistanis would launch a very massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things,” he said. The answer was firm. “The Prime Minister was impervious to what the Pakistanis were threatening to do.”
“And in this particular case, I can tell you that I was in the room when Vice President (JD) Vance spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi on the night of May 9, saying that the Pakistanis would launch a very massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things.
“And the Prime Minister was impervious to what the Pakistanis were threatening to do. On the contrary, he indicated that there would be a response from us. This was the night before and the Pakistanis did attack us massively that night, we responded very quickly thereafter," Jaishankar said.
"And the next morning, Mr (Secretary of State Marco) Rubio called me up and said the Pakistanis were ready to talk. So I can only tell you from my personal experience what happened. The rest I leave to you," he said.
What led to India-Pakistan clash in May?
India’s answer to the Pahalgam massacre was swift. The armed forces launched strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Over 100 militants from groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen were killed. “These are terrorist organisations who have the equivalent of the corporate headquarters in the populated towns of Pakistan everybody knows what what is the headquarters of organisation A and organisation B and those are actually the buildings, the headquarters that we destroyed,” Jaishankar said.
This time, Jaishankar said, India refused to let nuclear threats stop it from defending its people. “We will not allow nuclear blackmail to prevent us from responding because we’ve also heard this for too long… Now we’re not going to fall for that,” he said. His message was direct—terrorists will face force, and so will those who shelter them.
India’s response did not end with missiles. It suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, sealed the Attari crossing and downgraded diplomatic ties. These measures, alongside Operation Sindoor, signal a turning point.
Before arriving in Washington for Quad talks, Jaishankar took India’s case to the UN. At the headquarters, he opened an exhibition called The Human Cost of Terrorism. It tells the stories of attacks like Mumbai in 1993, 2008 and the recent Pahalgam tragedy. Standing by photographs and memories, Jaishankar said, “Terrorism is one of the gravest threats to humanity. It is the antithesis of everything that the UN stands for — human rights, rules and norms, and how nations should conduct their dealings with each other.”
The message now is out in the open. From the UN to Washington DC, India’s red line is clear: no impunity for terrorists, no shield for their sponsors, no free pass because of nuclear weapons. “So, no yielding to nuclear blackmail, no impunity to terrorists, no more free pass that they are proxies and we will do what we have to do to defend our people,” Jaishankar declared.
Also Read: India in the middle of 'very intricate trade negotiation,' says Jaishankar as talks with US gain momentum
During a Q&A session that followed the conversation, Jaishankar was asked about President Donald Trump’s claim that he used trade to stop the recent conflict between India and Pakistan and whether that has affected trade negotiations between Delhi and Washington.
“No, I don't think so. I think the trade people are doing what the trade people should be doing, which is negotiate with numbers and lines and products and do their trade-offs. I think they are very professional and very, very focused about it,” Jaishankar said.
He said that there is a national consensus in India that “our dealings with Pakistan are bilateral.
Jaishankar called the Pahalgam killing an “act of warfare” designed to break Kashmir’s backbone—its tourism economy. He made it clear India will not stand by while militants hide behind borders. “We decided that we cannot let terrorists function with impunity, the idea that they’re on that side of the border and that therefore sort of prevents retribution, I think is a proposition that needs to be challenged and that is what we did,” he said.
India’s battle with terror did not start yesterday. Jaishankar reminded the world that attacks from across the border have scarred India for decades, going back to Partition. “Now in our particular case, we’ve unfortunately had an experience of this. The experience has been very very intense for the last four decades but actually started from the time of our independence,” he told Newsweek. He pointed to the Parliament attack and Mumbai’s long night in 2008 as proof.
What happened behind closed doors during India-Pak conflict?
To the gathered diplomats, he made India’s expectation clear. “The message to the world has to be that there should be zero tolerance for terrorism, that there should be no circumstances, no excuse, no justification, under which you would allow, support, finance, sponsor terrorist acts.” He added, “Any state sponsorship must be exposed and must be counted.”
Jaishankar revealed more of what unfolded behind closed doors. He recalled how, just before India struck back, Pakistan threatened massive retaliation. “I can tell you that I was in the room when Vice President (JD) Vance spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi on the night of May 9, saying that the Pakistanis would launch a very massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things,” he said. The answer was firm. “The Prime Minister was impervious to what the Pakistanis were threatening to do.”
“And in this particular case, I can tell you that I was in the room when Vice President (JD) Vance spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi on the night of May 9, saying that the Pakistanis would launch a very massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things.
“And the Prime Minister was impervious to what the Pakistanis were threatening to do. On the contrary, he indicated that there would be a response from us. This was the night before and the Pakistanis did attack us massively that night, we responded very quickly thereafter," Jaishankar said.
"And the next morning, Mr (Secretary of State Marco) Rubio called me up and said the Pakistanis were ready to talk. So I can only tell you from my personal experience what happened. The rest I leave to you," he said.
What led to India-Pakistan clash in May?
India’s answer to the Pahalgam massacre was swift. The armed forces launched strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Over 100 militants from groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen were killed. “These are terrorist organisations who have the equivalent of the corporate headquarters in the populated towns of Pakistan everybody knows what what is the headquarters of organisation A and organisation B and those are actually the buildings, the headquarters that we destroyed,” Jaishankar said.
This time, Jaishankar said, India refused to let nuclear threats stop it from defending its people. “We will not allow nuclear blackmail to prevent us from responding because we’ve also heard this for too long… Now we’re not going to fall for that,” he said. His message was direct—terrorists will face force, and so will those who shelter them.
India’s response did not end with missiles. It suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, sealed the Attari crossing and downgraded diplomatic ties. These measures, alongside Operation Sindoor, signal a turning point.
Before arriving in Washington for Quad talks, Jaishankar took India’s case to the UN. At the headquarters, he opened an exhibition called The Human Cost of Terrorism. It tells the stories of attacks like Mumbai in 1993, 2008 and the recent Pahalgam tragedy. Standing by photographs and memories, Jaishankar said, “Terrorism is one of the gravest threats to humanity. It is the antithesis of everything that the UN stands for — human rights, rules and norms, and how nations should conduct their dealings with each other.”
The message now is out in the open. From the UN to Washington DC, India’s red line is clear: no impunity for terrorists, no shield for their sponsors, no free pass because of nuclear weapons. “So, no yielding to nuclear blackmail, no impunity to terrorists, no more free pass that they are proxies and we will do what we have to do to defend our people,” Jaishankar declared.
Also Read: India in the middle of 'very intricate trade negotiation,' says Jaishankar as talks with US gain momentum
During a Q&A session that followed the conversation, Jaishankar was asked about President Donald Trump’s claim that he used trade to stop the recent conflict between India and Pakistan and whether that has affected trade negotiations between Delhi and Washington.
“No, I don't think so. I think the trade people are doing what the trade people should be doing, which is negotiate with numbers and lines and products and do their trade-offs. I think they are very professional and very, very focused about it,” Jaishankar said.
He said that there is a national consensus in India that “our dealings with Pakistan are bilateral.
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