New Delhi, 22 May

The India-Pakistan understanding on cessation of hostilities was arrived at following direct negotiations between the two sides, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's claim that Washington played a role in brokering the truce.

Jaishankar also said that India will again hit terrorists in Pakistan in response to any future terror strikes like the one in Pahalgam, suggesting that it was the reason why Operation Sindoor has not been concluded.

In an interview to Dutch broadcaster NOS, he said that the government was very clear that "if there is such an attack, there will be a response".

Jaishankar was in The Hague as part of his three-nation tour of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.

"The operation continues because there is a clear message in that operation - that if there are acts of the kind we saw on 22 April, there will be a response, that we will hit the terrorists," he said.

"If the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them where they are. So, there is a message in continuing the operation but continuing the operation is not the same as firing on each other," he said.

Under Operation Sindoor, India carried out precision strikes on nine terror infrastructures early on 7 May in response to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack.

Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on 8, 9 and 10 May. The Pakistani attempts were strongly responded to by the Indian side.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on 10 May announced that India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect.

In his remarks, Jaishankar said the arrangement on cessation of hostilities was firmed up by the Indian and the Pakistani sides.

"When two countries are engaged in a conflict, it is natural that countries in the world call up and try to sort of indicate their concern," he said.

Jaishankar added: "But the cessation of firing and military action was something which was negotiated directly between India and Pakistan."

"We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the US but to everybody, saying if the Pakistanis want to stop fighting, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their general has to call up our general and say this. And that is what happened."

Following the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, Trump repeatedly claimed credit for it saying that he played a role in brokering the "ceasefire" between the two sides.

In his comments, Jaishankar described the April 22 Pahalgam attack as "barbaric" and said the terrorists "murdered" the innocent civilians in front of their families after ascertaining their "faith" with an aim to to create "religious discord".

"It was imperative that we have a response because the lack of response...was impossible in such a situation," he said.

Jaishankar said India is willing to hold talks with Pakistan on return of the illegally occupied part of Kashmir by that country to New Delhi, and on terrorism.

Asked about security concerns emanating from frontiers along China and Pakistan on India's economic growth, Jaishankar indicated that economic growth and security are part of the same coin.

"Our security challenges were far more threatening than yours (Europe's). So we had to prioritise security. You don't choose between security and economic prosperity. Today, you are realising that they are part of the same coin."