Jaishankar says India-Pakistan ties to remain fragile, no change in national consensus

New Delhi: India’s relations with Pakistan will remain “completely fragile” and there has been a long-standing national consensus on the matter, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday. He added that there would be “no change” in this stance.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event, Jaishankar referred to the recent Pahalgam terror attack and said the UN Security Council had underlined the need to hold the perpetrators accountable. “We held them accountable through Operation Sindoor on the morning of May 7,” he said.

Following the Pahalgam attack in Kashmir, India carried out precision strikes targeting terror launch pads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on the night of May 6–7. In response, Pakistan attempted retaliatory strikes on Indian military installations on May 8, 9, and 10, which were strongly countered by Indian forces.

The brief military confrontation ended on May 10 after both countries agreed to halt operations following talks between the Director Generals of Military Operations.

Reaffirming India’s position, Jaishankar said, “This has been a national consensus for many years and there has been no change in the consensus that relations with Pakistan will be bilateral.”