Military attack by Pakistan will be met with 'very firm response': S Jaishankar

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday declared India's intention to give a "very very firm response" to any retaliation by Pakistan for India's "Operation Sindoor." Jaishankar made the statement during his bilateral meeting with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, who arrived in New Delhi from Islamabad."You are visiting India at a time when we are responding to a particularly barbaric attack on 22nd April in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.This attack compelled us to respond on 7th May by striking at the cross-border terrorist infrastructure," Jaishankar said, referring to India's military action on sites linked to terrorist groups in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).India has named the strikes "Operation Sindoor.""Our response was targeted and measured. It is not our intention to escalate the situation. However, if there are military attacks on us, there should be no doubt that it will be met with a very very firm response. As a neighbour and close partner, it is important that you have a good understanding of the situation," the external affairs minister added.Earlier in the day, Jaishankar held a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel Aljubeir, and shared India's perspective on "firmly countering terrorism."On Wednesday, he held discussion with this counterparts. from Spain, France, Germany, Japan, and Qatar. He emphasised India's approach to cross-border terrorism and expressed gratitude for their solidarity and support.Operation SindoorIn response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, carried out by Pakistan-backed terrorists, Indian armed forces, in the early hours of Wednesday, destroyed nine terror sites in Pakistan and PoK."Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families. Nine terrorist camps were targeted and successfully destroyed... The locations were so selected to avoid damage to civilian infrastructures and loss of any civilian lives," Indian Air Force's wing commander Vyomika Singh said at a media briefing.Foreign secretary Vikram Misri and Indian Army' Colonel Sofiya Qureshi also spoke at the press conference.The strikes, conducted between 1:05 am and 1:30 am, were a coordinated effort by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, according to Singh.