Jaishankar on Pakistan, terrorism and India’s neighbourhood policy
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday described Pakistan as a “bad neighbour” and asserted that India has an unquestionable right to defend its people against terrorism, declaring that no external power can dictate how New Delhi exercises that right.
Speaking to students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Jaishankar drew a clear distinction between “good neighbours” and “bad neighbours,” saying India’s neighbourhood policy is guided by “common sense.”
His remarks came two days after he visited Bangladesh to attend the funeral of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, where he represented India and handed over a condolence letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Zia’s son and BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman.
Referring indirectly to Operation Sindoor, India’s military response to terrorism last year, Jaishankar said New Delhi would not accept lectures on self-defence.
“When you have bad neighbours, and if a country decides that it will deliberately, persistently and unrepentantly continue with terrorism, we have a right to defend our people against terrorism. We will exercise that right,” he said.
“How we exercise that right is up to us. Nobody can tell us what we should or should not do. We will do whatever we have to do to defend ourselves,” the minister added.
India carried out Operation Sindoor in the aftermath of the April terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which was claimed by The Resistance Front, a proxy of Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The operation targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Jaishankar also addressed the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, which India suspended following the Pahalgam attack, linking water-sharing arrangements to the principle of good neighbourliness.
“Many years ago, we agreed to a water-sharing arrangement. But if you have decades of terrorism, there is no good neighbourliness. And if there is no good neighbourliness, you don’t get the benefits of that good neighbourliness,” he said.
“You can’t say, ‘Please share water with me,’ but continue terrorism at the same time. That’s not reconcilable,” he added.
#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: On being asked about India’s neighbourhood policy, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, “… You can also have bad neighbours. Unfortunately, we do. When you have bad neighbours, if you look to the one to the west. If a country decides that it will deliberately,… pic.twitter.com/8w6dgDHLtc
— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2026
Highlighting India’s broader neighbourhood approach, the minister said New Delhi remains constructive where ties are not hostile.
“If you have a neighbour who is good to you or at least not harmful to you, your natural instinct is to be kind and helpful — and that’s what India does,” he said.
Last month, Jaishankar had remarked that many of India’s problems emanate from the Pakistani Army, adding that just as there are “good terrorists and bad terrorists,” there are also “good military leaders and not-so-good ones” — comments widely seen as a reference to Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.
