Washington/New Delhi: Amid rising concern in the world over the escalation between India and Pakistan, Indian Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, has said that Pakistan’s actions in launching missile and drone attacks on India shows that Islamabad backs terrorism and the world should tell Pakistan to stop supporting terrorism.
Speaking on CNN’s show ‘The Situation Room’ with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown, the Indian Ambassador also said that India’s Operation Sindoor, of launching cross-border attacks on terror camps in Pakistan and POK, was to avenge the Pahalgam terror attacks, because in no part of the world would such terrorists be allowed to be given free pass.
He also said that while there was a sense of finality in India after carrying out Operation Sindoor on May 7, Pakistan has chosen to escalate it further, and India is now dutybound to respond to that.
Asked about the breakout of tensions between the two nations, the Indian envoy said:
"The original breakout of tensions took place on 22nd April, when you had four terrorists backed by Pakistan, carried out brutal, sub human killings; monstruous kind of killings of 26 civilians, 25 Indian, one a Nepali national. The brutality of the killings, they killed them in front of their innocent wives, and children. They gave them headshots, and they did so on the basis of religion. So, they killed all non-Muslims who were there. They identified their religion, and they proceeded to kill them.
“So what we did the day before yesterday was essentially our response to terror. We said we are a responsible country, we will have a measured, calibrated response, and that is what we did.
“We took out the terror factories in nine locations in Pakistan and PoK. We took them out where they trained them, equipped them, organised them, those are the facilities we took out. We were very clear in excluding the military establishment, the social and economic structures.”
Asked about explosions being heard in “the Indian part of Kashmir”, Kwatra interrupted, and pointed out that the entire Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India and the only issue to be resolved is the return of the Pakistan Occupied part of Kashmir.
On the explosions in Jammu and Kashmir, he said “What these show is that Pakistan has decided again to stand with the terrorists; rather than taking action against them, they are essentially lending them support.”
“We won’t be surprised if they are themselves involved in this; but that is what the message they are telling the world, that we are with the terrorists, we are not with the civilised world. And Pakistan’s belief lies in perpetrating these proxies of terror killings, of brutal killings of civilians.”
On Pakistan’s denial of involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack, Kwatra said: ”That has always been the first part of Pakistani strategy. Denial and obfuscation. And they have this unique characteristic where they assume responsibility of their past actions in future, not in the present moment.
“Osama bin Laden, where was he found, the perpetrator of 9/11 World Trade Centre; where was the killer of Daniel Pearl found; the 26/11 Mumbai attacks where American nationals also died, where were those perpetrators found?
“A few days ago, the Defence Minister of Pakistan openly admitted to this, on the Sky News Network, that we have been supporting terrorism for the last 30 years. They always assume responsibility of their actions in the future,” he said.
Asked about Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack, he said: ”There is plenty of evidence to go around it; four terrorists backed by Pakistan, brutally killed 26 innocent civilians.
“In no part of the world would you allow such terrorists to be given free pass; and that is precisely what we did the day before yesterday. We carried our very precise, calibrated, measured response to these terrorists, to their factories, to their integrated facilities which they run out of Pakistan and POK.”
As he was interrupted, Ambassador Kwatra politely asked to be allowed to complete what he was saying. “It is nobody’s case to say that such terrorists should be given free pass, wherever they are located. I am sure we all appreciate that, the American public appreciates that, a large number of Congressmen and Senators we have spoken to appreciate that. The whole world appreciates that, that India should respond to and bring accountability to these terrorists and justice for the victims.
“Our attacks were essentially about bringing accountability to the terrorists, and justice for the victims.”
Asked if India is at war with Pakistan?, he said:
“The frame and template with which we look at this is the terror template. 22nd April was a most heinous terrorist act, and we held these terrorists accountable, brought them to justice.
“Now Pakistan has tried to engage some military targets on our side. This is Pakistan’s way of saying to the world, that look we stand with the terrorists, we will do what is good for the terrorists, and not what is good for the rest of the world.”
Asked again if India is at war with Pakistan, Kwatra said: “We are at war with the terrorists, and we will bring justice to the victims, and hold them accountable.”
Asked if this is a “religious war between Pakistani Muslims and Indian Hindus?”, he said: “It is Indian action against the terrorists, the ones who carried out the killings of the civilians. Our frame of reference in doing these attacks, is holding them accountable, that is our frame.”
Asked “At what point will you be satisfied?”, the Indian Ambassador said:
“When we did our measured, proportionate, precise attacks, that was what we were trying to convey, that these terrorists were behind carrying out the brutal killings of 26 innocent civilians.”
Interrupted again, with the query, “Are you done with the attacks, or will they continue?”, the Indian ambassador asked politely to be allowed to complete what he was saying.
“When we did this the day before yesterday, our assumption was that we have completed what we set out to do ourselves, vis a vis the terrorists. We from our perspective had brought a sense of finality to it, but it was of course subject to whether Pakistan has brought finality to it. Pakistan chose to escalate it further, now we are duty bound to respond to that.”
“Our original escalation was 22nd April to which we responded, and there was a sense of finality to it from our side.”
To a question on reports that India has lost five jets and also soldiers, he said he can’t speak on the operational details. “In course of time they will come out.”
“Our foremost objective in this was, hold these lowlifes, subhuman monsters accountable, and bring justice to the victims.”
To a question on both countries being nuclear armed and how concerned the world should be if it escalates into a nuclear war, he said:
“I think the world should be concerned about the fact that Pakistan’s support to terrorism and terrorist activities continues. I think that’s what the world should be concerned about, and I think that’s what the world should tell Pakistan -- stop supporting terrorism, that’s the crux of the question.”
Asked if he could confirm Pakistan’s claim that they killed dozens of Indian soldiers, he declined to comment on the operational details.
“Pakistan is indulging in all kinds of misinformation campaign, something which is very difficult to comment on. Those are operational aspects which will come out in course of time.”
