How close was India-Pakistan to nuclear conflict? Jaishankar's 'astonishing' response
What's the story
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has dismissed the idea that India and Pakistan were on the brink of a nuclear conflict during their recent military engagement.
In an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he said such narratives are "astonishing" and "deeply disturbing."
He stressed that India's response to a terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam was "measured" and "non-escalatory," aimed only at targeting terrorists.
Conflict response
Jaishankar's clarification on India-Pakistan conflict
"At no point was a nuclear level reached. There is a narrative as if everything that happens in our part of the world leads directly to a nuclear problem. That disturbs me a lot because it encourages terrible activities like terrorism."
"If anything, much more is happening with the nuclear issue in your part of the world," he said.
The minister also emphasized that this situation has remained stable for two weeks since the initial conflict.
Narrative criticism
Did China play role in the conflict?
"We did what we set out to do. We have sent a clear signal to the terrorists that there is a price to be paid for carrying out such attacks, as they did on us in Kashmir," he said.
When asked if China played a role in the conflict, he answered, "You know, many of the weapons systems that Pakistan has are of Chinese origin, and the two countries are very close. You can draw your own conclusions from that."
Diplomatic visit
Jaishankar's visit to Germany and discussions on bilateral cooperation
During his visit to Germany, Jaishankar held talks with German officials, including Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.
The discussions focused on expanding bilateral cooperation in key strategic areas such as defense and artificial intelligence.
He also met members of the German Parliament and the Indian community during his trip.