‘Will hit terrorists in Pakistan’: Jaishankar told US State Secretary Rubio after Pahalgam attack

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on May 1 spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and made it clear that “India will hit the terrorists in Pakistan” after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, sources said.

According to the sources, EAM Jaishankar had a phone call on May 1 with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Jaishankar told Rubio that, “We will hit the terrorists in Pakistan and there should be no doubt about it”.

Notably, India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in reply to the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22. The terror attack had killed 26 people. India had struck nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan sought to up the ante with a series of unprovoked escalations using artillery guns and drones.

On May 10, Rubio and Jaishankar held talks amid the India-Pakistan tensions, where Rubio emphasised the need for immediate de-escalation. He further expressed US support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications.

“The Secretary reiterated his condolences for the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to work with India in the fight against terrorism”, the US State Department wrote in a statement.

Areas across the border were set up on high alert, and there were blackouts whenever attacks from Pakistan took place. On the night of May 7-8, Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles. These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems.

Escalating its tensions with India, Pakistan targeted Jammu using Hamas-style missiles to target multiple areas on Thursday, defence sources had said. The sources said the attack resembled a Hamas-style operation in Israel, where multiple cheap rockets were used to target cities.’

In a decisive response to Pakistan’s aggressive actions along the western border and Line of Control (LoC), the Indian Armed Forces on May 10 targeted critical Pakistani military installations, including technical facilities, command and control centres, radar sites, and ammunition strongholds.

Precision strikes were carried out on Pakistani military targets in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Chunian, as well as radar sites at Pasrur and Sialkot aviation bases, using air-launched weapons from Indian fighter aircraft.

Notably, India’s Operation Sindoor, which was the country’s military retaliation to the brutal Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, has achieved all three key objectives–military, political, and psychological, according to sources.

The operation was marked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s declaration of destroying key terror camps across Pakistan, including those in Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Muzaffarabad.

However, both countries agreed to a cessation of hostilities on May 10. Hours after both countries agreed to stop all firing and military action on land, in the air, and sea, reports came of Pakistan violating the cessation of hostilities with India’s air defence intercepting Pakistani drones amid a blackout in Srinagar. (ANI)