The British Foreign Secretary meets Modi, Jaishankar during one-day visit, three weeks after visit to Pakistan, comments on the U.S., U.K. ‘ensuring ceasefire’
India expects its partners to understand its “policy of zero tolerance” on terrorism, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told visiting British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, adding that the country could not “countenance” equating “perpetrators of evil” with their victims. The stern statement from the External Affairs Minister came at the beginning of talks during Mr. Lammy’s one day visit to Delhi on Saturday, and follows a few weeks after Mr. Lammy’s visit to Pakistan, where he said that the U.S. and the U.K. were working with India and Pakistan to ensure “an enduring ceasefire”, dialogue, and Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) between India and Pakistan. The comments, in an interview to Reuters in Islamabad on May 17, had ruffled feathers in New Delhi as India has repeatedly denied any third country’s role in the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack.
“We practice a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and expect our partners to understand it, and we will never countenance perpetrators of evil being put at par with its victims,” Mr. Jaishankar told Mr. Lammy, while thanking the U.K. government for its condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, and support for India’s fight against terrorism.
In a statement ahead of the visit, the U.K. High Commission had said that Mr. Lammy would address the “recent escalation in tensions following the Pahalgam terrorist attack and how welcomed sustained period of peace can be best supported in the interests of stability in the region”.
During their meeting, PM Modi called for “decisive international action against terrorism and those who support it”.
Mr. Jaishankar’s strong words are part of a diplomatic pushback by the government against other countries over what is seen as India’s “hyphenation” with Pakistan in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, where many countries expressed concern and offered to help stop the military escalation during the four-day conflict. The government has faced criticism from the Opposition over U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that he mediated the crisis, a claim seemingly bolstered by Russian Presidential Aide Ushakov and Mr. Lammy in their respective statements.
In addition, the Opposition has claimed that the government has failed diplomatically to stop Pakistan, which is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), from becoming the Chair of the Taliban Sanctions Committee and the Vice-Chair of the Counter Terrorism Committee for the year, despite India’s ties with permanent members the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia, and others on the council.
Official sources said that “India will be working closely with its friends” in the UNSC to keep a watch on Pakistan’s activities on the council, given that Pakistan will also assume the Presidency of the UNSC in July. The sources said that Pakistan had requested Chairpersonship of four committees dealing with terrorism, and had only been nominated to the top of two, and Co-chair of some informal working groups (IWGs) due to a move by the Council to “reign in Pakistan”. They added that at least 50 of 343 individuals and entities that have been designated by the UNSC as terrorists are linked to or reside in Pakistan, and many globally wanted terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden had lived and trained there.
The Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to requests for a comment on whether the issue of Pakistan’s role in the UNSC terror committees had been discussed between Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Lammy. Mr. Lammy met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning, the second time he was accorded the meeting, after his previous visit in July 2024. He also met Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to take forward discussions on the India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that was finalised in May, and discussions over signing could be held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the U.K. PM Keith Starmer when they meet in Canada in mid-June on the sidelines of the G7 summit, where India is a special invitee.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Jaishankar also referred to the India-U.K. FTA, as a “milestone” in ties, and the potential of other bilateral agreements, including the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) for Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Strategic Exports and Technology Cooperation Dialogue to “propel” ties forward.
“Signing a Free Trade Agreement is just the start of our ambitions — we are building a modern partnership with India for a new global era,” Mr. Lammy said in a statement ahead of his visit to India, pointing to cooperation in growth, technology, tackling the climate crisis, delivering “migration priorities”, and security issues.
Partners should understand India’s zero tolerance policy on terror, and not place India and Pakistan on par: Jaishankar tells Lammy
The British Foreign Secretary meets Modi, Jaishankar during one-day visit, three weeks after visit to Pakistan, comments on the U.S., U.K. ‘ensuring ceasefire’
India expects its partners to understand its “policy of zero tolerance” on terrorism, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told visiting British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, adding that the country could not “countenance” equating “perpetrators of evil” with their victims. The stern statement from the External Affairs Minister came at the beginning of talks during Mr. Lammy’s one day visit to Delhi on Saturday, and follows a few weeks after Mr. Lammy’s visit to Pakistan, where he said that the U.S. and the U.K. were working with India and Pakistan to ensure “an enduring ceasefire”, dialogue, and Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) between India and Pakistan. The comments, in an interview to Reuters in Islamabad on May 17, had ruffled feathers in New Delhi as India has repeatedly denied any third country’s role in the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack.
“We practice a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and expect our partners to understand it, and we will never countenance perpetrators of evil being put at par with its victims,” Mr. Jaishankar told Mr. Lammy, while thanking the U.K. government for its condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, and support for India’s fight against terrorism.
In a statement ahead of the visit, the U.K. High Commission had said that Mr. Lammy would address the “recent escalation in tensions following the Pahalgam terrorist attack and how welcomed sustained period of peace can be best supported in the interests of stability in the region”.
During their meeting, PM Modi called for “decisive international action against terrorism and those who support it”.
Mr. Jaishankar’s strong words are part of a diplomatic pushback by the government against other countries over what is seen as India’s “hyphenation” with Pakistan in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, where many countries expressed concern and offered to help stop the military escalation during the four-day conflict. The government has faced criticism from the Opposition over U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that he mediated the crisis, a claim seemingly bolstered by Russian Presidential Aide Ushakov and Mr. Lammy in their respective statements.
In addition, the Opposition has claimed that the government has failed diplomatically to stop Pakistan, which is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), from becoming the Chair of the Taliban Sanctions Committee and the Vice-Chair of the Counter Terrorism Committee for the year, despite India’s ties with permanent members the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia, and others on the council.
Official sources said that “India will be working closely with its friends” in the UNSC to keep a watch on Pakistan’s activities on the council, given that Pakistan will also assume the Presidency of the UNSC in July. The sources said that Pakistan had requested Chairpersonship of four committees dealing with terrorism, and had only been nominated to the top of two, and Co-chair of some informal working groups (IWGs) due to a move by the Council to “reign in Pakistan”. They added that at least 50 of 343 individuals and entities that have been designated by the UNSC as terrorists are linked to or reside in Pakistan, and many globally wanted terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden had lived and trained there.
The Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to requests for a comment on whether the issue of Pakistan’s role in the UNSC terror committees had been discussed between Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Lammy. Mr. Lammy met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning, the second time he was accorded the meeting, after his previous visit in July 2024. He also met Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to take forward discussions on the India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that was finalised in May, and discussions over signing could be held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the U.K. PM Keith Starmer when they meet in Canada in mid-June on the sidelines of the G7 summit, where India is a special invitee.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Jaishankar also referred to the India-U.K. FTA, as a “milestone” in ties, and the potential of other bilateral agreements, including the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) for Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Strategic Exports and Technology Cooperation Dialogue to “propel” ties forward.
“Signing a Free Trade Agreement is just the start of our ambitions — we are building a modern partnership with India for a new global era,” Mr. Lammy said in a statement ahead of his visit to India, pointing to cooperation in growth, technology, tackling the climate crisis, delivering “migration priorities”, and security issues.
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