Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good Evening, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this briefing by Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri on the ongoing developments regarding OPERATION SINDOOR. We also have with us Col. Sofia Qureshi and Wg Cdr Vyomika Singh for this briefing. With that, I hand over the floor to Foreign Secretary.

Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri: Thank you, Randhir. Good evening. Thank you all for joining for this briefing.You would have perhaps seen some information related to developments since late last night, early this morning, which has been put out by the Ministry of Defence. Just in case it has been missed, I will request Colonel Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh to just update you and fill you in on the details.

Colonel Sofia Qureshi:Thank You, Sir.

ऑपरेशन सिंदूर पर 7 मई 2025 को हुई प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस के दौरान भारत ने अपनी प्रतिकिया को केंद्रित, संतुलित, और गैर-उत्तेजित बताया था। ये विशेष रूप से स्पष्ट किया गया था कि पाकिस्तानी सैन्य ठिकानों को निशाना नहीं बनाया गया। साथ ही, दोहराया गया कि भारत में किसी भी सैन्य लक्ष्य पर हमले का उचित जवाब दिया जाएगा।

7-8 मई 2025 की रात को पाकिस्तान ने उत्तरी और पश्चिमी भारत में स्थित कई सैन्य ठिकानों, जैसे कि अवंतिपुरा, श्रीनगर, जम्मू, पठानकोट, अमृतसर, कपूरथला, जालंधर, लुधियाना, आदमपुर, बठिंडा, चंडीगढ़, नाल, फलोदी, उत्तरालाई, और भुज पर ड्रोन और मिसाइलों से हमला करने का प्रयास किया। इन हमलों को इंटीग्रेटेड काउंटर UAS ग्रिड और वायु रक्षा प्रणालियों द्वारा निष्क्रिय कर दिया गया। इन हमलों का मलबा कई स्थानों से बरामद हुआ जो कि पाकिस्तानी हमलों का प्रमाण है।

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh: On the night of 7 – 8 May 2025 Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India using drones and missiles. These places included Avantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Nal, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Falaudi, Uttarlai and Bhuj. These were neutralized by the Integrated Counter Unmanned Aerial System and other Air Defense systems.The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that proved the Pakistani attacks.

Colonel Sofia Qureshi: आज सुबह भारतीय सशस्त्र बलों ने पाकिस्तान के कई स्थानों पर वायु रक्षा रडार और प्रणालियों को निशाना बनाया। भारत की प्रतिक्रिया समान क्षेत्र में समान तीव्रता के साथ की गई। यह विश्वसनीय रूप से ज्ञात हुआ कि लाहौर में स्थित एक वायु रक्षा प्रणाली को निष्क्रिय कर दिया गया।

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh: Today morning, Indian armed forces targeted Air Defence radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan. Indian response has been in the same domain, with the same intensity as Pakistan. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised.

Colonel Sofia Qureshi: पाकिस्तान ने नियंत्रण रेखा पर अकारण गोलाबारी की तीव्रता बढ़ा दी है जिसमें कूपवाड़ा, बारामुल्ला, उरी, पुंछ, मेंढर और राजौरी क्षेत्रों में मोर्टार और भारी तोपखाने का इस्तेमाल किया जा रहा है।

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh: Pakistan has increased the intensity of its unprovoked firing across the Line of Control using mortar and heavy-caliber artillery in areas in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar and Rajouri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir. Sixteen innocent lives have been lost, including three women and five children, due to the Pakistani firing. Here too, India was compelled to respond to bring mortar and artillery fire from Pakistan to a halt. Indian Armed Forces reiterate their commitment to non-escalation, provided it is respected by the Pakistan military. Jai Hind.

Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri: Thank you. Friends, this is as I said, further to the briefing that was provided yesterday and some of the updates that have been just provided by Col Qureshi and Wg Cdr Singh.

I thought that we would just put some of the aspects related to the events that started on 22nd April with the barbaric terror attack in Pahalgam into further context, because there is a certain amount of commentary that has happened with regard to the events since then. And more than the commentary, there has been a lot of disinformation that has been directed at us from across the border. So, a few things that I would like you to keep in mind.

First of all, there is mention on all sides, of escalation. I think the first point that you have to keep in mind is the attack of 22nd April in Pahalgam is the original escalation.

यह जो सिलसिला है जो हम देख रहे हैं आज की घटनाओं को लेकर, यह 22 अप्रैल के पहलगाम हमले से शुरू हुआ है। एस्केलेशन वहाँ पर हुआ है। और उस एस्केलेशन का जवाब भारतीय फौज ने कल अपने एक्शन से दिया है।

Secondly, I want to invite your attention to the involvement of the group calling itself The Resistance Front in these attacks. I pointed this out yesterday that this is a group that is a known front for the well-known Pakistan-based terrorist organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba. The group has been reported earlier. I mentioned to you about the Indian authorities providing information to the UN 1267 Sanctions Monitoring Committee. And, in fact, we are going to be meeting with the team again very soon and we will be providing an update to the information that we have provided earlier. But what is interesting,

दिलचस्प बात यह है कि संयुक्त राष्ट्र की सुरक्षा समिति ने जब पहलगाम के हमले को लेकर एक प्रेस वक्तव्य जारी करने की बात चल रही थी, तो आप सोचिए - किस देश ने टी.आर.एफ. का, दि रेज़िस्टेंस फ्रंट का उसमे मेंशन किया जाना , उसको अपोज़ किया - पाकिस्तान ने।

This was after the fact that the TRF claimed responsibility for this attack, not once but twice -within a few hours after the incident on the 22nd of April, and then again on the morning of 23rd April. And it is perhaps only after the full gravity of the incident was realised by its masters and handlers across the border that it was managed to back off from this claim. Obviously that retraction doesn’t convince anybody.

तीसरी चीज जो मैं आपसे कहना चाह रहा था, और कर्नल कुरैशी और विंग कमांडर सिंह ने कल भी बड़े स्पष्ट शब्दों में और आज भी आपसे यह बात साझा की है। जो भारतीय रिस्पॉन्स है वह नॉन-एस्केलेटरी है, प्रीसाइज़ है, सटीक है, मेजर्ड है और कन्सिडर्ड है।

Our intention has not been to escalate matters. We are only responding to the original escalations, as I said. And our response has been targeted, precise, controlled and measured. No military targets have been selected. Only terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan has been hit.

Now, there are, as I said, a number of issues that have been raised in commentaries and there is a lot of unfounded disinformation and fabrication that has come from across the border, and I would just like to use this opportunity to set the records straight on some of these issues.

The first of these is Pakistan trying to wash its hands off any and all involvement with terrorism. I think that the Pakistani Information Minister said there are no terrorists in Pakistan. And I think he was challenged on that in the television program in which he was appearing on.

But even if I partially repeat myself from yesterday, I think Pakistan's reputation as the epicenter of global terrorism is rooted in a number of instances where concrete evidence is available, not just to India, but to governments and authorities and agencies around the world. There are several terrorist attacks around the world where Pakistani fingerprints have been found. I don't need to deliver the point with regards to this audience about where Osama Bin Laden was found, and who called him a martyr.

Pakistan has also for decades pursued cross-border terrorism into India with impunity, and as I said yesterday also, in order to deliberately mislead the international community, they claimed that the terrorist Sajid Mir was dead. They came under pressure and Sajid Mir was then brought back to life, arrested, and is now apparently in Pakistani custody.

Pakistan is also home to a very large number of UN proscribed terrorists as well as terrorists proscribed by a number of other governments in the world, including of course the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Jaish-e-Mohammad, as well as their leaders, Masood Azhar and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.

आपने देखा होगा हाल ही में, पिछले ही कुछ दिनों में, पाकिस्तान के रक्षा मंत्री और उनके पूर्व विदेश मंत्री दोनों ने इस बात को माना है कि पाकिस्तान का ऐसे ग्रुप्स के साथ जो रिश्ता है वह क्या रहा है।

Both the Defence Minister and the former Foreign Minister of Pakistan, I think, they have done a more eloquent job of this than I could ever do in terms of describing their country’s implication in international terrorism and their involvement in housing these kinds of groups.

दूसरा जो विषय है, वो है पाकिस्तान का जो एक दावा है की एक इंटरनेशनल एम्पार्शियल इन्वेस्टीगेशन होना चाहिए, एक जॉइंट इनवेस्टिगेटिव कमिटी होनी चाहिए।

These calls for jointly investigating this heinous and barbaric attack in Pahalgam. Again, I think you know the history well on this, you know the track record well, and it is not a bright track record in so far as Pakistan is concerned. In fact, in the pursuit of justice for the victims of multiple terrorist attacks, whether it be Mumbai in 2008, in Pathankot in 2016, or many others. But in particular for these two attacks, India had offered to cooperate. India provided forensic evidence, and urged Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice.

We, in particular with regard to the Mumbai attacks of 2008, where a Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist was captured alive; India provided extensive information and evidence related to the involvement of Pakistani terrorists in this attack. Cases were registered, but you are all aware that these cases have not progressed despite the formation of judicial teams etc., and Pakistan has consistently stonewalled all efforts to move the investigation along.

In fact, with regard to the Pathankot attack as well, a joint investigative team was formed. We gave unprecedented access to the Pakistani team to the site of the attack. Details of call records data, and DNA etc. was shared with Pakistan. We had shared with them, details related … that we had been able to access … the addresses of terrorists. We presented evidence against the office bearers of Jaish-e-Mohammad who had conspired in the attack, and the handlers of the terrorists who facilitated them, and guided them in. But there has been no movement on this.

So, in all of this, I think the experience has not been positive, and it certainly doesn't give us the confidence now to take at face value, Pakistani assertions of wishing to participate in a joint investigation. These are just delaying tactics. These are just stonewalling tactics.

And in fact, there is reason to believe that Pakistan uses the evidence that we provide only to cover its tracks, and in fact defend the terrorists who we are looking for, and obstruct the path of investigation.

A third point that I wanted to address was the claim that only civilians were killed in the strikes on the 7th of May. We have made the point very clearly that all attacks on the morning of 7th May were against carefully selected terrorist infrastructure, terrorist targets. It is not clear to us, in fact, seeing some of the coverage of the after effects of these strikes, including the funerals for the terrorists that were held yesterday … I think a lot of you have seen the reports and the coverage on media.

If only civilians were killed in these attacks, I wonder what message this picture actually sends to all of you. This is a question that is worth asking. It's also odd that the funerals of civilians are carried out with the coffins being draped in Pakistani flags, and state honors being accorded. As far as we are concerned, the individuals eliminated at these facilities were terrorists. Giving terrorists state funerals may be a practice in Pakistan. It doesn't seem to make much sense to us.

Pakistan has also claimed that India deliberately attacked religious sites. This is completely false. Again, I have made it clear that the targets were terrorist infrastructure, terrorist facilities, and locations connected clearly with incidents of cross-border terrorism into India. And it is in fact Pakistan that is misusing religious sites as a cover to in fact radicalize, direct, and indoctrinate and train terrorists.

In fact, contrary to what Pakistan is claiming, yesterday Pakistan launched a targeted attack on the Sikh community in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, hitting a Gurdwara in Poonch and the homes of Sikh community members which came under attack. And we know that at least three individuals were killed in that particular attack.

Pakistan is also making attempts to, in fact just to add to this point, the retaliatory action that Pakistan has taken in fact is impacting civilians. I showed you the picture of the Gurdwara and the Sikh community members who were killed in this. There are other civilians also who were killed and injured in these attacks. In fact, since yesterday morning, a total of 16 civilians have been killed, and 59 others have been injured in the attacks by Pakistan.

Not only this, Pakistan is also making attempts in, as part of its disinformation campaign, to paint our action with regard to cross-border terrorism through the communal angle. If that is the issue, then I think I can do no better than to cite or point you in the direction of the Pakistan Army Chief's speech of 16 April 2025. I think that is the last word in communal rhetoric.

And in the Pahalgam attack itself, you are aware of the kind of religious profiling that was done there, and perhaps there is a linkage between these two events. I can only say that these nefarious designs will not be allowed to succeed in India. And it is to be noted that people from all faiths, all religions, all regions in India have unequivocally, not just in India, but around the world, have condemned these attacks.

The Pakistani claims of now responding to India's strikes of the 7th of May. As I said right at the outset, it is India which is responding. The original escalation was by Pakistan on the 22nd of April. We are the ones who are responding to that escalation with the action that was taken yesterday morning. And again, I would like to emphasize that the action was restrained; it was directed towards non-civilian, non-military targets; and confined to terrorist camps. And again, as we've been saying since yesterday, any further action by Pakistan, some of which we are seeing today is nothing but escalation by Pakistan now, once again, and will be responded to and is being responded to appropriately.

One point that I wanted to also address was the allegations to the targeting of a dam, the Neelam Jhelum project in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. I want to say that this is an absolute and complete fabrication and a blatant lie. India has targeted only, and only terrorist infrastructure. And the details of that terrorist infrastructure, together with the location was shared with you yesterday by Col Qureshi and Wg Cdr Singh. I should note that if this kind of claim is a pretext for targeting Indian infrastructure of a similar nature, Pakistan will be entirely responsible for the consequences that will undoubtedly follow.

Finally, I want to address some issues that have been raised related to the Indus Waters Treaty, and the disinformation that has been raised in this regard as well. The fact is that there have been fundamental changes in the circumstances in which the Indus Waters Treaty was concluded. And they required, they called for a reassessment of the obligations under the treaty. Over the last year and a half to two years, India has been in communication with the Government of Pakistan. We've sent several notices to them requesting for negotiations to discuss a modification of the treaty.

India has, for six plus decades now, honoured the treaty, even during periods when Pakistan imposed multiple wars on us, and even when relations were adversarial. Pakistan is the one that has been acting in violation of the treaty, deliberately creating legal roadblocks in India exercising its legitimate rights on the Western Rivers. Any projects that India sought to build on the Eastern Rivers, and even on the Western Rivers, which we are allowed to by the treaty, were always challenged by Pakistan, thereby, hampering our rights to utilise our legitimate waters under the treaty.

In fact, if you see the preamble of the treaty itself states that the treaty was concluded in a spirit of goodwill and friendship. Mark those words, concluded in a spirit of goodwill and friendship.

यह भारत का धैर्य और भारत की सहनशीलता है जो पैंसठ साल से हम इतनी प्रोवोकेशन के बावजूद इस ट्रीटी को निभा रहे हैं।

However, as has been made clear earlier as well, Pakistan has not responded to our request to enter into negotiations for a reassessment of the obligations under the treaty. A number of conditions have changed. This is a treaty that was based on the engineering techniques of the 50s and the 60s. We are living through the first quarter of the 21st century. Technological changes and technological advancements have to be taken into account.

There are demographic changes. There are climate changes that have taken place. There is the imperative of clean energy. And, of course, the terrorism that Pakistan has wreaked in the state of Jammu and Kashmir itself has hampered India's ability to exercise its rights under the treaty.

Pakistan's persistent refusal to respond to our request to enter into Government-to-Government negotiations on the modification of the treaty is in a sense itself a violation of the treaty. And, therefore, India has taken the step of putting the treaty in abeyance until Pakistan abjures irrevocably its support for cross-border terrorism.

Maybe I'll stop there. I mentioned earlier yesterday as well that this is an evolving situation. I would therefore ask all of you to be considerate and restrained. It will not be possible for us or my colleagues from the Armed Forces to share operational details at this point in time. Beyond that, if you have any questions, may I have time for only a few, and I'll try to answer those questions.

Rishabh, Times Now: Foreign Secretary, Good Evening. This is Rishabh from Times Now. I just wanted to understand. As per the press release that has been released earlier today, it says that we have successfully hit at the Air Defence of Lahore. Does it give our forces a better chance in case of further escalation? And are there other air defence places as well at strategic location that were targeted?

Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri: Rishabh, you are violating the first rule that I set out at the end of my remarks. The press release that has been issued by the Ministry of Defence today speaks for itself. It is related to operational matters. It's been released by the Ministry of Defence. As more information becomes available, it will be released at the appropriate time. Once again, please don't go into operational details at this point in time, because this is a constantly evolving situation.

Smita Sharma: Foreign Secretary, Smitha Sharma. I just wanted to ask whether Pakistani Minister Ishaq Dar in an interview has claimed that the National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan have spoken to each other. If you could or deny.

And is complete severance of diplomatic ties with Pakistan also on the table?

Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri: I have no information with regard to contacts between the two National Security Advisors. In so far as diplomatic relations are concerned, you have seen the steps that were announced in response to ... following the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on the 23rd of April. There are no further steps that are under consideration at this moment in time.

Manish Jha, TV9 Bharatvarsh: फॉरेन सेक्रेटरी, मेरा नाम मनीष झा है, मैं टीवी९ भारतवर्ष से हूँ और आपने खुद ही बताया कि कितना मिसइन्फ़ॉर्मेशन क्रॉस बॉर्डर से आ रहा है। बल्कि ऐसा लग रहा है जैसे पाकिस्तान के प्राइम मिनिस्टर और डिफ़ेंस मिनिस्टर तक भी प्रोपगैंडा करने में, मिसइन्फ़ॉर्मेशन करने में आ गए हैं। वह कई बार ये तक दावा करते हैं कि हमने तीन राफेल गिरा दिए, मिग गिरा दिए, और जब उनसे पूछा जाता है तो वह कहते हैं कि सोशल मीडिया में हमने ये सब चीज़ें देखी थीं। तो अगर आधिकारिक तौर पर आप कुछ कह सकें इस पर, ताकि उन्हें भी समझ आए कि इस तरह का प्रोपगैंडा नहीं चलने वाला है।

(Approximate translation in English): Foreign Secretary, I’m Manish Jha from TV9 Bharatvarsh. You’ve mentioned earlier how a lot of misinformation is coming from across the border. It even seems like the Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Pakistan are doing this. They’ve made strange claims — like shooting down three Rafales or MiGs — and when asked for proof, they just say they saw it on social media. Can you say something officially on this, so it’s clear that such false propaganda won’t be taken seriously?

Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri: देखिए, जब सही समय होगा तो आधिकारिक तौर पर इसके बारे में सूचना दी जाएगी। लेकिन जो आपका प्रश्न है कि प्रधानमंत्री और उपप्रधानमंत्री, विदेश मंत्री, उनके रक्षा मंत्री इस तरह की बातें कर रहे हैं, तो इसमें अचरज की कोई बात नहीं है। आखिरकार यह एक देश है जिसने अपना — इसका जन्म लेते ही झूठ शुरू हो गया था। 1947 में जब पाकिस्तानी फौज ने जब जम्मू कश्मीर पर धावा बोला तो उन्होंने किसी ऐसे-वैसे व्यक्ति से नहीं, संयुक्त राष्ट्र से झूठ बोला कि हमारा कोई लेना-देना नहीं है इससे। ये लोग जो गए हैं, वह तो कबायली हैं। वह तो जब हमारी फौज वहाँ पहुँची और संयुक्त राष्ट्र के लोग खुद वहाँ पर पहुँचे और खुद उन्होंने देखा कि वहाँ तो पाकिस्तानी फौज घुसपैठ करके आ गई है — उसके बाद पाकिस्तान को मुँह की देखनी पड़ी। और उनको मानना पड़ा कि हाँ, उनकी फौज वहाँ पर कुछ समय से पड़ी हुई है। तो यह जो यात्रा है, एक तरह से 75 साल पहले शुरू हो चुकी है।

I am not surprised that this kind of misinformation is being indulged in.

(Approximate Translation in English): Look, when the time is right, the official information will be shared. But as for your question — that Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Defence Minister are making such claims — it’s not really surprising. This is a country whose habit of lying began at the time of its creation. Back in 1947, when the Pakistani army tried to take over Jammu and Kashmir, they told the United Nations that they had nothing to do with it, and that it was just tribal people involved. But when our army and UN officials reached there, they saw for themselves that it was actually the Pakistani army that had infiltrated. Pakistan was then forced to admit the truth that they had been there for some time. So this pattern of spreading lies and misinformation started 75 years ago. I’m not at all surprised that this kind of misinformation is being indulged in.

Siddhant, WION: Sir, Siddhant from WION, We have seen a lot of negative comments coming from the Pakistani military of escalation. If tomorrow there is an escalation, there are strikes, we know one attempt has been thwarted, what will be the Indian response to those attempts of creating more escalation? Because it is looking like it is going towards more escalation.

And my second question is, are any other world powers, essentially the P5 countries, the West Asian countries, reaching out to de-escalate the current situation?

Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri: Look, on escalation, we have already made our stance clear. I mean, there are two basic points. First of all, it is Pakistan that escalated on the 22nd of April. We are only responding to that escalation. And then, what we have said yesterday and what my colleagues have said today, that now if there is an attempt at further escalation by Pakistan, it will be responded to in an appropriate domain. And, therefore, the choice is entirely that of Pakistan to make.

As to your second question, I don't think I can do better than to point you in the direction of the statements that are being made from practically every chancellery in the world, and the sentiment that they are carrying. That sentiment essentially, and for the major portion, is support for the Government of India in the context of the condemnation of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on the 22nd of April.

There is wide recognition of the Government of India's right to respond to these attacks in self-defence and, of course, a desire to ensure that there is not further escalation. I think these statements speak for themselves.

Mausami, India Today: Sir this is Mausami from India Today, Now, in the all-party meeting, we have learned that the Defence Minister has said that, you know, in the OPERATION SINDOOR, almost 100 terrorists were killed. Would we have any details about what is the number like, and also about if there were any big faces, masterminds, terrorist masterminds who were, in fact, killed?

There is also a report that Masood Azhar's family's 10 members have been killed and Rauf Asghar, who was actually the mastermind of Pulwama, he's also been badly, severely injured.

Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri: I don't have information at this point in time to share with you on these issues. But as I said, I think, you know, there is so much information out there on television, in the news media, in social media, that it sometimes looks like a long time has passed since this. Please understand that slightly over 36 hours only have passed since this operation was undertaken. Let's have some patience. The information will come out. It will be shared in due time.

Sudhi Ranjan, Bloomberg: Thank you Foreign Secretary. Sudhi Ranjan from Bloomberg. Sir, could you give us any understanding whether India has moved the IMF or the World Bank to kind of, you know, sensitize them about the talk, the bailout that Pakistan has, and the kind of stuff that the government, Pakistan government is doing.

Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri: Look, we have an Executive Director at the IMF. Tomorrow there is a meeting of the board of the IMF, and I'm sure that our Executive Director will put forward India's position. The decisions of the board are a different matter. You know the process through which they are made. But, I think the case with regard to Pakistan should be self-evident to those people who generously open their pockets to bail out this country.

And since you are from Bloomberg, I think you would have the data on how many IMF bailout programs have been sanctioned in the space of the last three decades. And I think you would also have an idea of how many of those programs have actually reached a successful conclusion. Probably, not many. So I think this is a decision that board members have to take by looking deep within themselves, and looking at the facts.

Siddhant Mishra, CNN News18: Foreign Secretary, I am Siddhant from CNN News 18. I would like to know since it's an opportunity to speak to you. I would like to know the response coming from United States since last three weeks ... Saudi Arabia, Qatar. In fact, Prime Minister Modi spoke to Qatar before the strikes that evening. Perhaps, how do you read the support coming from these countries? Perhaps traditionally they were seen on the other side.

This time around their statements are strong-worded. In fact, India-Saudi joint statement also had a very strong condemnation, strong-worded condemnation. United States at all levels have condemned the attack and have extended support.

In fact, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister is in India. He just met EAM Jaishankar. Also, if you could shed some light on his visit, his meeting with EAM S. Jaishankar.

In fact, we have also been told that he met Prime Minister Modi. Thank you.

Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri: Look, all the countries that you named and many others, we have been in touch with them.

The Prime Minister has spoken to a large number of world leaders. A large number of world leaders have called him, as have called the External Affairs Minister. As we speak, there are conversations going on today as well with world leaders.

And your assessment or conclusion of the general tenor of these messages is very much on point. And I think this is a recognition of the fact, firstly, of the barbaric nature, the unprecedented nature, and character and features of the attack in Pahalgam. And a recognition of India's right to respond to this. And also a recognition of the fact that, in responding, we have been nothing but responsible. And have done so in a restrained, in a measured and in a non-escalatory manner.

I think that counts for something. People have taken that into account and that is what is explaining the kinds of reactions that we are seeing. And we appreciate the sentiments and the statements that have been made by the vast majority of world leaders.

Yes, the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs is in Delhi. He had a meeting with the External Affairs Minister earlier today. I don't have further details at this moment, but if there are details, the Ministry will share them at some point.

Thank you. I think that's all we have time for today. We will join you again soon. Thank you all.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you.

New Delhi
May 08, 2025