External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has described the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam as a deliberate act of “economic warfare” intended to paralyse the region’s tourism industry and provoke religious violence.
Speaking at a chat with Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad in New York, the minister underlined that the April 22 attack was a red line moment for India.
“It was an act of economic warfare. It was meant to destroy tourism in Kashmir, which was the mainstay of the economy. It was also meant to provoke religious violence because people were asked to identify their faith before they were killed,” Jaishankar said.
He emphasized that such attacks could no longer go unanswered and that India’s counteroffensive, Operation Sindoor, was a necessary and proportionate response. The operation, launched in May, targeted terror infrastructure linked to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, particularly its proxy, the Resistance Front.
‘No Trade-Ceasefire Link’: Jaishankar Counters Trump’s Claim
Jaishankar also categorically denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that American trade leverage pushed India and Pakistan toward a ceasefire after the May escalation.
“I can tell you that I was in the room when Vice President [JD] Vance spoke to Prime Minister Modi on the night of May 9, saying that the Pakistanis would launch a very massive assault on India… We did not accept certain things, and the Prime Minister was impervious to what the Pakistanis were threatening to do,” Jaishankar recounted.
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He clarified that after India’s swift military response to Pakistan’s attack on May 9, it was Islamabad that reached out seeking de-escalation. According to him, it was Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations, Major General Kashif Abdullah, who directly contacted Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai to request a ceasefire.
In contrast, Trump had claimed during a press conference in The Hague that he stopped the confrontation with a trade threat, saying, “I said, ‘Look, if you’re gonna go fighting each other … we’re not doing any trade deal.’”
Jaishankar firmly rebutted this version: “Diplomacy and trade operate independently. The trade people are doing what the trade people should be doing — negotiate with numbers, lines, and products. They’re very professional and very focused.”
India’s Stand Against Cross-Border Terrorism
The minister reiterated India’s position that nuclear blackmail or geography will not deter the country from retaliating against cross-border terrorism.
“We decided that we cannot let terrorists function with impunity. The idea that they are on that side of the border, and that, therefore, sort of prevents retribution — that’s a proposition that needs to be challenged, and that is what we did,” Jaishankar said.
He also acknowledged the long history of terror attacks stemming from Pakistan, pointing out the overwhelming sentiment in India that “enough is enough” following the Pahalgam massacre.
