Jaishankar Delivers Blunt Message on Pakistan, Terrorism and India’s Right to Act
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday offered a candid assessment of India’s neighbourhood challenges, making a veiled but unmistakable reference to Pakistan while asserting New Delhi’s right to defend itself against terrorism. Speaking to students at IIT Madras, Jaishankar said that while countries may aspire to peaceful neighbourhoods, India unfortunately has to deal with “bad neighbours.”
Referring to the western neighbour without naming it directly, Jaishankar said that when a country “deliberately, persistently, and unrepentantly” chooses terrorism as a policy tool, India has every right to protect its citizens. His remarks come against the backdrop of heightened tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians and was alleged by India to have been designed and backed from across the border.
The External Affairs Minister underlined that India’s response to such threats would be guided solely by its national interest. Emphasising strategic autonomy, he asserted that decisions on how and when to act cannot be dictated by external actors. His comments appeared to dismiss repeated claims by US President Donald Trump about mediating peace between India and Pakistan during the military standoff in May, reinforcing India’s long-standing position that bilateral issues will be handled independently.
Jaishankar also spoke about the now-suspended Indus Waters Treaty, linking cooperation to basic principles of good neighbourliness. He argued that agreements based on goodwill cannot coexist with sustained hostility and violence. Sharing water resources while facing decades of cross-border terrorism, he said, was fundamentally contradictory.
Our Final Thoughts
Jaishankar’s remarks reflect a sharper articulation of India’s foreign policy posture—one that prioritises security, strategic autonomy, and accountability in regional relations. By clearly linking cooperation to behaviour, New Delhi is signalling that diplomacy and goodwill cannot survive alongside terrorism.