Archive · 7 Aug 2026
India-Pakistan ties can only move ahead free of terror: Jaishankar
India and Pakistan are two neighboring countries in South Asia, and sometimes they do not get along.
India says that Pakistan helps people who carry out attacks against India.
India's foreign minister, Mr. Jaishankar, told India's leaders that the two countries can only be friends if there are no attacks or violence.
He said Pakistan still uses terrorism as a weapon against India.
In 2019, there was a big attack in a place called Pulwama.
After that, India stopped giving Pakistan special trading benefits and made Pakistani goods much more expensive.
In April 2025, there was another attack in Pahalgam.
India then paused a water-sharing agreement called the Indus Waters Treaty and closed a border crossing.
Even so, the two countries still talk to each other about important safety matters, like sharing lists of nuclear sites.
India says that a normal friendship between the two countries can only happen when cross-border terrorism ends.
India told Parliament that its relations with Pakistan can only move ahead in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Pakistan continues to use terrorism as an instrument of state policy against India.
After the 2019 Pulwama attack, India withdrew Most Favoured Nation status from Pakistan and hiked customs duty on Pakistani goods to 200 percent.
Following the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam attack, India placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, closed the Attari check-post and restricted visas.
Despite tensions, both countries maintain diplomatic missions in each other's capitals and continue DGMO-level talks and other functional engagements.
- Who
- India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, responding in the Lok Sabha to a question from Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav.
- What
- India said its relations with Pakistan can only progress in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence, and accused Pakistan of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
- When
- Statement made on Friday; covering the 2019 Pulwama attack and the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam attack.
- Where
- Lok Sabha (India's Parliament), concerning India-Pakistan relations and attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Why
- Because India says normal bilateral relations with Pakistan are not possible until cross-border terrorism ends.
India's Position
Pakistan's Stance and Actions
Cross-border terrorism
India's Position
India accuses Pakistan of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and insists relations can only progress in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.
Pakistan's Stance and Actions
The article reports that Pakistan announced unilateral measures of its own, including downgrading diplomatic relations and suspending bilateral trade with India.
Path to normal relations
India's Position
India holds that normal bilateral relations require an end to cross-border terrorism and says it will respond appropriately against cross-border terrorism and its infrastructure.
Pakistan's Stance and Actions
Pakistan suspended bilateral trade and downgraded its diplomatic relations with India, while both countries continue to maintain their diplomatic missions in each other's capitals.
- External Affairs Minister
- S Jaishankar
- Forum
- Lok Sabha, Indian Parliament
- Customs duty on Pakistani goods
- 200% (after Pulwama attack)
- Most Favoured Nation status
- Withdrawn from Pakistan after 2019 Pulwama attack
- Indus Waters Treaty
- Placed in abeyance after April 2025 Pahalgam attack
- Pahalgam attack date
- April 22, 2025
- Attari check-post
- Closed
- Pakistan's countermeasures
- Downgraded diplomatic relations; suspended bilateral trade