Brussels: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that the proof of the effectiveness of Rafale was the "destroyed and disabled" airfields in Pakistan, a statement he made in response to a question about losses during Operation Sindoor.
The EAM, who is travelling to Europe a month after India launched Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, made the remarks while speaking to Politico in Brussels on Monday.
Jaishankar also warned that India would strike deep into Pakistan if provoked by terrorist attacks, asserting that there will be retribution against the terror outfits and their leaders if incidents like the April 22 Pahalgam attack were repeated.
Asked about losses, Jaishankar said the relevant authorities would address the matter at the right time. He said that India's fighter aircraft and missiles had inflicted far more extensive damage on the Pakistani Air Force than vice versa, forcing Pakistan to sue for peace.
"As far I'm concerned, how effective the Rafale was or frankly, how effective other systems were — to me, the proof of the pudding is the destroyed and disabled airfields on the Pakistani side," he said. "The fighting stopped on the 10th for one reason and one reason only, which was that on the 10th morning, we hit these eight Pakistani, the main eight Pakistani airfields and disabled them," he said, adding that images are available in Google showing runways and those hangars which have taken the hit.
Jaishankar accused Pakistan of training "thousands" of terrorists "in the open" and "unleashing" them on India. "We are not going to live with it. So our message to them is that if you continue to do the kind of barbaric acts which they did in April, then there is going to be retribution, and that retribution will be against the terrorist organisations and the terrorist leadership," he said. "We don't care where they are. If they are deep in Pakistan, we will go deep into Pakistan," he added.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which claimed 26 lives. India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7. The on-ground hostilities from the Indian and Pakistan sides that lasted for four days ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.
Jaishankar warned that the root causes of the conflict remain unchanged. "It (Pakistan) is a country very steeped in its use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy. That is the whole issue," he was quoted as saying by the Politico. When asked if the conditions that led to the outbreak of war last month were still in place, he said: "If you call the commitment to terrorism a source of tension, absolutely, it is."
'Terrorism should be treated as global issue, not bilateral problem'
Jaishankar also said that terrorism should be addressed as a global issue rather than a bilateral problem, as he highlighted the historical connection of many of the terror-related incidents globally to Pakistan.
Addressing the Indian community members in Belgium, Jaishankar apprised them of India's counter-terrorism efforts. Talking about Operation Sindoor, he said during his talks with Belgian counterpart Maxime Prevot, he mentioned the 2016 Brussels attack to "drive home the point that look, terrorism is not, you know, a particular country's problem."
"Don't look at this, because often, you know, the media, which is not always free of bias, tends to present it saying, you know, there is an India, Pakistan issue, or, you know, this is about Kashmir," he said. "What distinguishes this challenge is often in different countries, you know, a group does it...It is very rare to have a country which openly uses it as a state policy," Jaishankar said.
Great to interact with members of Indian community of Belgium and Luxembourg.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 9, 2025
Discussed with them the steady progress of India - Belgium ties and engagement with the EU.
Also apprised them of our efforts at countering terrorism and ensuring progress & prosperity of India.
🇮🇳… pic.twitter.com/rQQNp5jwJn
This is something people in Europe have to understand because that is not their experience, he said. "Terrorism happens here, but no European country, or no neighbour of a European country, does terrorism as a...declared policy of their country, and I spent some time trying to make them understand," he said.
"The messaging that on an issue like terrorism,...don't treat it as an issue between two countries. I don't think this is just India's problem. I mean, if you look, in fact, at the history of terrorism over the last 20-30 years, so many of these incidents eventually end up in Pakistan. The fingerprints, the trails, somebody from there comes down, you know, all this," Jaishankar said.
India has faced the challenge of terrorism, he said. "We are, of course, unbroken, but we are more than unbroken. We are very determined, and this time we wanted to send that message saying, Enough is enough," Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar, during the address, also said that there was "much sharper" interest in Europe to build stronger ties with India.
"They realise that many of the problems of Europe have to be addressed by Europe itself, that they have to stand more on their own feet, and therefore they also need more friends. They need stronger relationships with other countries," he said.
"You all come from different professions, different walks of life. I am sure you don't need me to tell you what is happening here and other possibilities. But certainly, when it comes to Belgium specifically, we can see that Belgium has always been a major partner of India," he added.
On ties between India and Belgium, Jaishankar said, "We always had a good political understanding as it was one of the earliest countries to establish diplomatic relations with India." "Politically, things have always been smooth for us; but our effort now is not just to be satisfied with what we have, but to intensify our cooperation with different countries--particularly, I would say, the economic cooperation, the people-to-people linkages and also the well-being of the community," he said.
During his week-long visit to Europe, Jaishankar will also hold talks with leaders of the European Union, Belgium and France to boost bilateral ties and reaffirm India's policy of zero-tolerance against terrorism. India recently sent seven multi-party delegations to 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community on Pakistan's designs and India's response to terror, especially in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
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