India
-Oneindia Staff
The
already
tense
India-Pakistan
relationship
worsened
after
Pakistan-backed
terrorists
killed
several
tourists
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir’s
Pahalgam
in
April
2025.
Following
the
massacre,
New
Delhi
suspended
the
Indus
Waters
Treaty
as
part
of
a
wider
set
of
punitive
steps
against
Islamabad,
signalling
a
harder
line
on
cross-border
terrorism
and
longstanding
bilateral
arrangements.
Speaking
against
this
backdrop
at
the
Indian
Institute
of
Technology
(IIT)
Madras,
External
Affairs
Minister
S.
Jaishankar
criticised
Pakistan
as
a
“bad
neighbour” that
repeatedly
supports
terrorism.
Jaishankar
stressed
that
India
would
continue
to
protect
national
security
and
interests
without
accepting
outside
advice
on
how
to
address
terrorist
violence
directed
from
across
the
border.
In
April
2025,
following
a
terrorist
attack
in
Pahalgam,
Jammu
and
Kashmir,
India
suspended
the
Indus
Waters
Treaty
as
a
punitive
measure
against
Pakistan,
with
External
Affairs
Minister
S.
Jaishankar
criticizing
Pakistan’s
support
for
terrorism
at
IIT
Madras
and
asserting
India’s
right
to
self-defense.
India
Pakistan
terrorism
and
firm
stance
on
self-defence
Jaishankar
made
it
clear
that
New
Delhi
alone
would
define
its
counter-terror
response,
stressing
India’s
autonomy.
“How
we
exercise
that
right
is
up
to
us.
Nobody
can
tell
us
what
we
should
or
should
not
do.
We
will
do
whatever
we
have
to
do
to
defend
ourselves,”
he
said,
underscoring
that
security
decisions
remain
a
sovereign
matter.
Explaining
the
challenge
from
the
western
frontier,
Jaishankar
said
many
nations
manage
uneasy
neighbourhoods,
but
India’s
case
is
different
because
terrorism
is
used
as
deliberate
state
policy.
“If
a
country
decides
that
it
will
deliberately,
persistently
and
unrepentantly
continue
with
terrorism,
we
have
a
right
to
defend
our
people
against
terrorism.
We
will
exercise
that
right,”
he
said,
calling
the
threat
sustained.
India
Pakistan
terrorism
and
water-sharing
agreements
The
minister
linked
cross-border
terrorism
with
wider
bilateral
commitments,
including
river
water
cooperation.
Jaishankar
reminded
the
audience
that
India
entered
water-sharing
agreements
decades
earlier,
assuming
basic
good
faith.
“Many
years
ago,
we
agreed
to
a
water-sharing
arrangement,
but
if
you
have
decades
of
terrorism,
there
is
no
good
neighbourliness.
If
there
is
no
good
neighbourliness,
you
don’t
get
the
benefits
of
that
good
neighbourliness,”
he
said.
Jaishankar
argued
that
expectations
of
water-sharing
could
not
sit
alongside
terrorism
sponsorship.
“But
when
it
comes
to
bad
neighbours
who
persist
with
terrorism,
India
has
every
right
to
defend
its
people
and
will
do
whatever
is
necessary.
You
cannot
request
us
to
share
our
water
with
you
and
also
spread
terrorism
in
our
country,”
he
said.
“You
can’t
say,
‘Please
share
water
with
me,
but
I
will
continue
terrorism
with
you.’ That’s
not
reconcilable,”
he
added.
Reiterating
India’s
position,
Jaishankar
said
New
Delhi
would
keep
exercising
its
right
to
shield
citizens
from
attacks
linked
to
Pakistan-based
groups.
He
described
terrorism
and
bilateral
obligations,
including
the
Indus
Waters
Treaty,
as
closely
connected,
and
indicated
that
persistent
cross-border
violence
had
already
invited
strong
measures,
reflected
in
India’s
recent
actions
after
the
Pahalgam
killings.
