External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, on Saturday, while speaking to NDTV's CEO and Editor-In-Chief Rahul Kanwal at the HT Leadership Summit, said many of India's problems have emanated from the Pakistani army. According to the minister, the ideological hostility towards India comes from the Pakistani army.
"When you look at the terrorism, when you look at the training camps, when you look at the sort of policy of a kind of, I would say, almost ideological hostility towards India, where does that come from? It comes from the army. I can only say that at the end of the day, look at the state of Pakistan and, you know, see the differentials and the capabilities and, frankly, the reputation on either side. I think, look, we should not get over-obsessed and hyphenate ourselves with them," S Jaishankar said.
The minister added that while there is a challenge, New Delhi will "deal with it".
Speaking about Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, Jaishankar said, "Like there are good terrorists and bad terrorists, there are good military leaders and not-so-good ones."
Asked whether there are moves that he feels India could have played differently during Operation Sindoor, Jaishankar emphasised that India operates under a distinct set of rules and norms, where every action is subject to accountability to the nation, its people, and the media.
"I think where India is concerned, there are things we do, and there are things we don't. We have rules, we have norms. If we take any step, we are accountable in this country, to the people, to the media, to the civil society. I think it would be unreal to compare ourselves with them, and in many ways, we would be doing ourselves an injustice," he said.
India, in May, carried out 24 missile strikes across nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, killing 70 terrorists and injuring another 60, to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack under 'Operation Sindoor'. Pakistan, in response, resorted to 'arbitrary and indiscriminate firing' and artillery shelling across the LoC. The two countries agreed to a ceasefire on May 10.
