Pakistan Was Alerted Within 30 Minutes of Operation Sindoor Launch, Jaishankar Tells MPs

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told a Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Monday that Pakistan was informed within 30 minutes of the launch of Operation Sindoor, India’s precision military strike against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation, conducted on the night of May 7, targeted nine terror hideouts in response to the deadly April 22 Pahalgam attack.

Jaishankar said the early communication was meant to ensure Pakistan understood that only terrorist infrastructure was being targeted, thereby avoiding any military escalation.

The information was shared during a high-level meeting chaired by Jaishankar and attended by prominent Members of Parliament including KC Venugopal, Manish Tewari, Mukul Wasnik, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Aparajita Sarangi, and Gurjeet Singh Aujla.

“Within half an hour of Operation Sindoor commencing, Pakistan had been informed that only terrorist hideouts were being targeted,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying by sources present at the meeting.

He added that the ceasefire agreement between the two countries came into effect following direct communication initiated by Islamabad between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan.

The minister also addressed questions about foreign influence, particularly from the United States, in de-escalating the situation. Jaishankar said that when the U.S. Secretary of State warned that Pakistan might escalate militarily, India responded with a clear message: “If Pakistan escalates, we are ready to respond in kind.”

This firm diplomatic stance, he said, demonstrated India’s preparedness and resolve while maintaining strategic clarity.

The clarification comes amid political backlash, especially from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who alleged that the Indian government informed Pakistan before launching the operation, calling it a “crime.”

“Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime,” Gandhi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?”

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) promptly rebutted the claim, calling it a “deliberate misrepresentation.”
“EAM Jaishankar had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Op Sindoor’s commencement. This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement,” the MEA said in a statement.

Operation Sindoor was launched in the early hours of May 7, days after a terror attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people, including many tourists. The retaliatory operation targeted nine terror camps inside PoK and Pakistan.

Following India’s strike, Pakistan attempted retaliatory actions on May 8, 9, and 10, reportedly aiming at Indian military installations. In response, Indian forces launched precision counterstrikes targeting multiple Pakistani military positions.