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Rahul Gandhi Criticizes Jaishankar Over Pakistan Communication During Operation Sindoor; MEA Denies Misrepresentation
Rahul Gandhi slams EAM Jaishankar for informing Pakistan during Op Sindoor; MEA says facts misrepresented, denies pre-strike warning.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took aim at External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar over his revelation that India had informed Pakistan about its intent to target terrorist infrastructure at the start of Operation Sindoor.
Gandhi described the move as a “crime,” questioning how many aircraft the Indian Air Force (IAF) had lost as a result of this decision. “Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?” he wrote in a post on X.
In response, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected the allegations, calling Gandhi’s comments a "misrepresentation of facts."
Jaishankar, addressing reporters on Thursday, had said, “At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan saying we are striking at terrorists’ infrastructure. We are not striking at the military. So the military has an option of standing out and not interfering. They chose not to take that good advice.”
His remarks referred to a communication made by India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Lt. General Rajiv Ghai, to his Pakistani counterpart, Major General Kashif Abdullah, following the Indian strikes on nine terror-linked sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir between 1:00 and 1:30 a.m. on May 7.
According to officials, the message conveyed that the targets were “carefully chosen” to avoid military assets, and that India was open to dialogue if Pakistan wished to engage diplomatically.
The MEA issued a statement defending Jaishankar’s comments, saying, “The External Affairs Minister stated that we warned Pakistan at the start — clearly referring to the early phase after Operation Sindoor began. Portraying this as communication made before the operation is a complete distortion.”
When asked about possible IAF losses during a May 11 briefing, Director General Air Operations Air Marshal A. K. Bharti declined to comment directly, citing ongoing combat conditions. He added that losses are an inevitable aspect of any military operation but emphasized that all IAF pilots had returned safely and the operation’s objectives were fully achieved.
