London | India's response to Pakistan's original conflict escalation with the terrorist attacks in Pahalgam last month was “precise, targeted" and focussed solely on terror infrastructure but Pakistan has chosen to continue to escalate the matter instead of taking an "off-ramp" to end the crisis, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK has said.
Vikram Doraiswami was interviewed by a series of UK media outlets on Thursday to present India's stance on the rising tensions between India and Pakistan. He told ‘Sky News' that the international community can intervene by pointing out the opportunity for an off-ramp to Pakistan.
He also displayed an image live on air of US-designated terrorist Abdur Rauf leading prayers for the terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor, also presented during a briefing by Foreign Secretary Vikram Mistry in New Delhi.
“Everybody knows that for the last 30 years, Pakistan has used this (terrorism) as a means of sub-critical warfare against India,” said Doraiswami.
“If the international community really wants to be able to look at this and worry about it, the simple solution is to tell Pakistan it has an opportunity for an off-ramp. These are things that the world should have compelled Pakistan to do 30 years ago, and to compel them to implement their promises about taking down this infrastructure. It has not done so,” he said.
Asked if India fears a further escalation of conflict in the region, the envoy asserted that the “original escalation” is Pakistan-sponsored terror groups attacking and shooting civilians in Pahalgam on April 22.
“Our response thereafter was precise, targeted, reasonable and moderate. It was focused principally and solely on terrorist infrastructure. We did not strike the Pakistani military establishment. We did not strike national infrastructure, and we made it abundantly clear… that the object of this exercise was clearly to avoid military escalation – a fact actually acknowledged in a left handed way, of course, by the Pakistani side in terms of their own official statements which said that the airspace hadn't been violated,” said Doraiswami.
“The logical solution would be, as we've said repeatedly, for Pakistan to take the opportunity of an off ramp, which we have made abundantly clear, including this morning, that if Pakistan stops attacking our military facilities, the matter ends there, but it is for them to decide,” he said.
The High Commissioner was also pressed on media reports around Indian jets being allegedly shot down, claims that remain unsubstantiated.
“If it satisfies Pakistan's ego to say that they've done something, they could have used that as an off-ramp to move on. But clearly they chose not to and they've continued to escalate the matter,” he added.