Indo-Pak ties can move ahead only in terror-free environment: Jaishankar

New Delhi, Aug 7: India’s relations with Pakistan can only move ahead in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence, Union External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar informed the Lok Sabha on Friday, asserting that Pakistan continues to follow a policy of cross-border terrorism and uses terrorism as an instrument of State policy against India.
The minister was responding to Starred Question No. 289 raised by Member of Parliament (MP) Dharmendra Yadav regarding the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan. The question was answered in the Lok Sabha on August 7, 2026.
The MP had sought to know the present status of bilateral relations between India and Pakistan since the Pulwama terror attack to date, along with changes at the political, diplomatic and trade levels between the two countries.
He also sought details of the number of bilateral talks held between India and Pakistan at various levels during the last five years and the issues discussed therein, besides asking whether the government still maintained that normal bilateral relations with Pakistan were not possible until cross-border terrorism ends and, if so, the details of its present policy.
In its response, the government said that following the Pulwama terror attack, India withdrew the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan and increased customs duty on all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan to 200 per cent.
Islamabad subsequently announced certain unilateral measures, including downgrading diplomatic relations and suspension of bilateral trade with India.
The government said that in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, perpetrated by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, India took several diplomatic measures. These included holding in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty, closing the check-post at Attari, restricting visas and downsizing diplomatic and official presence at the respective Missions.
Military action targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) was also undertaken, the government said.
The government said India and Pakistan currently maintain their respective diplomatic Missions in each other’s capitals.
It said both sides continue to have functional engagements, including DGMO-level talks, exchange of pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles, exchange of lists of nuclear installations and exchange of lists of prisoners in each other’s custody.
The government said India has made clear its approach of responding appropriately against cross-border terrorism and its infrastructure, while not tolerating any form of blackmail and taking comprehensive steps to protect its citizens.
“These considerations,” the government said, “shape India’s conviction that normal bilateral relations require an end to cross-border terrorism”.
The government reiterated that India-Pakistan relations can move ahead only in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence, maintaining that Pakistan continues to follow a policy of cross-border terrorism and uses terrorism as an instrument of State policy against India. (KNO)