Following the Indian Armed Forces’ targeted strikes on nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) under Operation Sindoor, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval initiated an extensive diplomatic outreach to brief global counterparts on India’s actions and intentions.

These strikes were a direct response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives, including those of Indian and Nepali civilians, and were attributed to cross-border terrorist groups operating from Pakistani soil.

Ajit Doval spoke with the US NSA and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, UK NSA Jonathan Powell, Saudi NSA Musaid Al Aiban, UAE NSA Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed and Ali Al Shamsi, Japanese NSA Masataka Okano, Russian NSA Sergei Shoigu, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French President.

The conversations were aimed at providing a transparent account of India’s actions, which Doval described as “measured, non-escalatory, and restrained.” He emphasised that the strikes were carefully calibrated to avoid civilian casualties and infrastructure, focusing solely on dismantling terrorist camps, recruitment centres, indoctrination hubs, and launchpads linked to groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Doval assured his counterparts that India’s intent was not to escalate the conflict but to deter further cross-border terrorism. He underlined India’s preparedness to respond firmly should Pakistan choose to escalate. The NSA’s outreach was part of a broader effort to keep international partners informed and to prevent any miscommunication or misunderstanding that could lead to further escalation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also spoken to the national security advisors of both India and Pakistan, urging both sides to maintain open lines of communication and avoid escalation.

At a joint press briefing, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri reiterated that the Pahalgam attack was marked by extreme brutality, with victims executed at close range in front of their families, and was clearly intended to undermine normalcy in Kashmir. Misri stated that credible intelligence indicated imminent further attacks, compelling India to act preemptively to deter and prevent more violence. He stressed that the operation was proportionate, responsible, and focused solely on terrorist infrastructure, not on civilian or economic targets.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh confirmed that all nine targeted sites were destroyed without harming civilians, and Colonel Sofiya Qureshi presented evidence of the strikes’ precision. The government highlighted that one of the destroyed camps was the same location where Ajmal Kasab and David Headley, notorious for their roles in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, had trained.

Ajit Doval’s swift and comprehensive diplomatic engagement after Operation Sindoor was designed to clarify India’s rationale, reassure the international community of its restraint, and reinforce its commitment to countering terrorism while avoiding escalation. The outreach also served to isolate Pakistan diplomatically, as India underscored the cross-border linkages of the Pahalgam attack and its right to self-defence under international law.

ANI