External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar strongly criticised Pakistan, describing it as a "bad neighbour", and asserted that India has every right to protect its citizens from terrorism. He made these remarks while addressing students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras on Friday.
In reference to Operation Sindoor, Jaishankar said, "Nobody can tell us what we should or should not do." India struck terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, and effectively repelled Islamabad's subsequent escalation, pounding Pakistan airbases. This was done in retaliation to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in April.
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"You can also have bad neighbours. Unfortunately, we do. When you have bad neighbours, if you look to the one to the west, if a country decides that it will deliberately, persistently, and unrepentantly continue with terrorism, we have a right to defend our people against terrorism. We will exercise that right," EAM Jaishankar said.
"How we exercise that right is up to us. Nobody can tell us what we should or should not do. We will do whatever we have to do to defend ourselves," he added.
Jaishankar Talks About Indus Waters Treaty
Jaishankar also took a firm stand over the suspended Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 with Pakistan.
He said, "Many years ago, we agreed to a water-sharing arrangement, but if you had decades of terrorism, there is no good neighbourliness. If there is no good neighbourliness, you don't get the benefits of that good neighbourliness. You can't say, "Please share water with me, but I will continue terrorism with you."