New Delhi:
There was no ‘nuclear signalling’ by Islamabad during the military conflict with Pakistan earlier this month, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told Parliament Monday evening.
Mr Misri told the House’s Standing Committee on External Affairs the conflict remained “conventional” and that Islamabad’s use of Chinese-made weaponry – including the HQ-9 missile defence system – was irrelevant because “what matters is we hit their air bases hard…”
However, he declined to comment on any Indian fighter jets that may have been shot down, citing national security constraints. There were reports Pak shot down five Indian jets.
Concerns that nuclear facilities – for weapons or civil use – may be targeted, deliberately or inadvertently, were red-flagged during the conflict. Such concerns were also shouted out by Pakistan in an attempt to paint India as the aggressor and ‘blackmail’ the Indian armed forces into submission.
These, however, were dismissed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Modi had said India will not be intimidated by ‘nuclear blackmail’. “Any terrorist safe haven operating under this pretext will face precise and decisive strikes,” he declared.
The Indian Air Force earlier trashed rumours its strikes had hit Pak’s Kirana Hills, where that country’s nuclear facility is reportedly based. In a humorous aside, Air Marshal AK Bharti told reporters he hadn’t even heard of Kirana Hills and thanked the press for the ‘tip’.
‘No Trump, US Role In Ceasefire’
In a detailed briefing about Operation Sindoor – India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack – Mr Misri also said the United States had no role to play in the May 12 ceasefire.
This was in response to questions about US President Donald Trump’s claims about having averted a ‘nuclear war’ between India and Pakistan, and having ‘solved’ the Kashmir issue.
The Committee was told Pak had reached out first; this was on the afternoon of May 10 and after precision strikes by the Indian military hit Pak military installations, including the Chines-made HQ-9 system in Lahore and the strategically important Nur Khan air base.
Mr Misri told the Committee a plea for a ceasefire came from Islamabad, specifically from Pakistan’s Director-General of Military Operations, who reached out to his counterpart in Delhi.
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There was no ‘third-party mediation’ in this matter, Mr Misri assured the panel.
The Foreign Secretary – who was the face of the government, with Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, for the 100-hours of the conflict with Pak – was also grilled about US President Donald Trump’s many claims that he had brokered a ‘peace’.
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The government has made it very clear that neither Mr Trump nor his administration played any significant role in the Indian military – which combat experts agree had Pak on the ropes – standing down. The plea for a ceasefire came from Pak, Mr Misri told the Committee, and Delhi agreed to listen, and cease hostilities, because targets set under Op Sindoor had been met.
The Committee was also told no trade favours had been exchanged with the US – with whom a free trade agreement is being negotiated – in exchange for a ceasefire, and that trade as a subject had never been part of any cessation of hostilities talk with the US or Pakistan.
On Turkey
Mr Misri was also asked about Turkey’s position in this matter.
Ankara and Baku, the seat of the Azerbaijani government, has supported Islamabad since Pahalgam and Op Sindoor, with reports even suggesting the former has sent military aid to Islamabad.
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The Foreign Secretary told the Committee Turkey – labelled the ‘three brothers’ with Pakistan and Azerbaijan, which have formed a nexus against India – never was a traditional supporter.
Op Sindoor
Op Sindoor had initially targeted and destroyed nine terror camps – four in Pak and five in Pak-occupied Kashmir. These included the headquarters of two key terrorist groups – the Jaish-e-Mohammed that was behind the 2019 Pulwama and 2016 Uri attacks, and the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
It was an offshoot of the Lashkar, The Resistance Front, that carried out the Pahalgam attack.
It then extended to the Indian air defence system shooting down or neutralising a barrage of Pak missiles and drones aimed at Indian military and civilian centres over four successive nights.
India had repeatedly warned Pak against allowing terrorist outfits to operate from it soil, pointing to a mountain of growing evidence linking the Pakistani deep state to attacks around the world.
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Op Sindoor, the PM had said earlier, marked a significant shift in the new strategy in the war on terror, a shift that will be explained to the world by seven all-party delegations to be dispatched worldwide.