"Our Main Concern": S Jaishankar Draws Red Line On Terror In India-US Ties

Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar has in a most direct way alluded to why it was important for India to also know what its ally is doing and with whom it is talking. This comes in the context of India-US relationship and the fight against terrorism.

After talking about the India-US trade issues and contentious matters linked to tariffs, Jaishankar moved on to a second, important topic that affects bilateral ties to some extent.

"What is particularly important for India is the issue of terrorism. We feel there are very few countries which have been subjected to the kind of terrorism that we have from a neighbour as part of a deliberate conscious policy over many, many decades," he said without naming Pakistan, a country that the US has often found amenable to work with to meet its policies.

But even the terrorist who was behind the September 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden, was found hiding in a garrison city in Pakistan.

The foreign minister indicated that a partner that refuses to see or understand India's concerns on terrorism would certainly affect bilateral ties.

Pakistan and India had just had a conflict in April 2025 after Pakistan-groomed terrorists killed 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. The attack triggered India's Operation Sindoor that smashed terror and supporting military infrastructure deep inside Pakistan, exposing yet again Pakistan's complicity in backing terrorism as a national policy.

"Now, if something which matters so deeply to us, there isn't enough understanding or appreciation of empathy for that, I think that creates a problem too. If one of my primary concerns is not fully appreciated by my partner, then clearly there is an impact of that on the relationship to some extent," Jaishankar said.

"I think it's also impacted, influenced at least by what's happening within America," he added, pointing at domestic issues in the US influencing how its leaders deal with the international community including India.

Successive American governments have closely worked and engaged with Pakistan in pursuing their objectives which included depending on Pakistan for last-mile logistical and other assistance in the post-September 11 world.

India has been for the longest time telling the world community - and showing with evidence after evidence - that terrorists who operate in Jammu and Kashmir come from one and only one place - Pakistan.

"Yes, we would certainly hope for and expect the relationship to move on an upward trajectory but I have to be real about the issues that we confront. And to the extent we are able to move ahead on some of the issues, I think we will have a better relationship," the Minister of External Affairs said.

According to Jaishankar, much of the world has had a more difficult relationship with the US; however, that is not a consolation but a reality.

"Having said that, there are - at least for many countries, the bigger countries - there are very specific issues... In our case, one, of course, was the trade negotiation," he said.

In October 2025, the global terror funding watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had warned Pakistan that its removal from the FATF grey list in October 2022 did not make the nation immune to money laundering and terror financing allegations.

According to UN provisions, all countries are required to freeze funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated terrorists.