Force of Indian arms compelled Pakistan to stop its firing: MEA

New Delhi [India], May 13 (ANI): Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday lauded the Indian armed and air forces, stating that their might compelled Pakistan to stop firing.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Jaiswal said that Indian forces launched an attack on Pakistani air force bases due to which the other side were willing to stop military action.
"You will of course appreciate that early on (May) 10th morning, we had mounted an extremely effective attack on key Pakistani Air Force bases. That was the reason they were now willing to stop firing and military action. Let me be clear. It was the force of Indian arms that compelled Pakistan to stop its firing," he said.
Jaiswal again made it clear that the policy of Indian side on the Jammu and Kashmir issue remains unchanged.
He said that the issue of the union territory is a bilateral one, and it pertains to the illegal occupation of Pakistan of Jammu and Kashmir.
"We have a long-standing national position that any issues pertaining to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir have to be addressed by India and Pakistan bilaterally, that stated policy has not changed. The outstanding matter is the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan," he said.
Talking about the ceasefire reached on May 10, Jaiswal said that the initiative of the understanding was taken by the Pakistani side. Pakistan initially faced some technical difficulties in connecting with the Indian side over the phone, and then a feasible timing was worked out.
"The specific date, time and wording of the understanding was worked out between the DGMOs of the two countries at their phone call on 10 May 2025 commencing 1535 hrs. The request for this call was received by the MEA from the Pakistani High Commission at 1237 hrs. The Pakistani side had initial difficulties connecting the hotline to the Indian side for technical reasons. The timing was then decided based on the availability of the Indian DGMO at 1535 hrs," he said.
Jaiswal reiterated that India's message to the world regarding the attack was clear- Indian side was responding to Pakistan for its dastardly attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22.
"As regards conversations with other nations, the message from India was clear and consistent. And exactly the same message that we were conveying from public platforms was the one conveyed in private conversations. It was that India was responding to the 22 April terrorist attack by targeting the terrorist infrastructure," he said.
Jaiswal reiterated that India was only responding to the attack of Pakistani firing, and it would stop of the other sides stop. The same message was conveyed to the Pakistani side at the onset of Operation Sindoor.
"However, if the Pakistani armed forces fire, Indian armed forces will fire back; if Pakistan stops, India will also stop. This was also the message that was conveyed to the Pakistani side at the time of the commencement of Operation Sindoor, which was not heeded to by the Pakistani side at that time. It is natural that many foreign leaders who heard this from us would have shared it with their Pakistani interlocutors," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier today while addressing the armed forces at the Adampur Air Base lauded the Indian Armed Force on the stupendous success of the operation stating that that the slogan of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' is the resolve of every soldier who is ready to sacrifice their lives for the country, adding that when it echoes in the war field as well as in the missions. (ANI)