Latest news with #QuadSummit
News18
an hour ago
- Politics
- News18
Quad Leaders Condemn Pahalgam Terror Attack, Call For Perpetrators To Be Brought To Justice
Last Updated: In a joint statement, the foreign ministers strongly denounced the act of violence and called for those responsible to be brought to justice. Quad Summit: The foreign ministers of the QUAD group–US, India, Japan, and Australia– on Wednesday unequivocally condemned the April 22's ghastly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 individuals. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers strongly denounced the act of violence and called for those responsible to be brought to justice. 'The Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, and renews our commitment to counter-terrorism cooperation. We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025, which claimed the lives of 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen, while injuring several others. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and extend our heartfelt wishes for a swift and full recovery to all those injured. We call for the perpetrators, organisers, and financiers of this reprehensible act to be brought to justice without any delay and urge all UN member States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant UNSCRs, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard," the statement said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, along with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, participated in the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting held at the US Department of State on Tuesday. At the meeting, EAM Jaishankar said that the world must display zero tolerance against terrorism and asserted that 'victims and perpetrators" must never be equated. Without mentioning Operation Sindoor in which India struck terror bases in Pakistan and PoK, Jaishankar said India has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and it will exercise that right. The ministers discussed a wide range of regional and global issues, with a strong focus on counterterrorism cooperation. The Quad, comprising India, the US, Australia and Japan, has emerged as a key grouping largely focusing on peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad foreign ministerial meeting is expected to prepare the ground for the grouping's annual summit in New Delhi later this year. EAM Jaishakar said it is essential that nations of the Indo-Pacific have the freedom of choice so essential to make the right decisions on development and security. 'We are all committed to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. To that end, our endeavours are devoted to promoting a rules-based international order," he added. Jaishankar, who is visiting the US from June 30 to July 2 at Marco Rubio's invitation, also held a meeting with US Secretary of State on the sidelines of the Quad foreign ministers' meeting, during which they discussed bilateral partnership and shared perspectives on regional and global developments. Jaishankar also met with US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth during which they discussed advancing the defence partnership between the two countries. Pahalgam Terror Attack In one of the biggest attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, Lashkar-linked terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists in Pahalgam on Tuesday, April 22, killing at least 26 people, including foreign tourists, and injuring many others. The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar offshoot, claimed responsibility for the attack, although it later backtracked after massive global outrage. India responded with Operation Sindoor on May 7, bombing nine terrorist camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in pre-dawn strikes that killed at least 100 militants. The operation sparked four days of cross-border fighting involving fighter jets, missiles and artillery. First Published:
NDTV
2 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"India Has Right To Defend Against Terrorism": S Jaishankar At Quad Meet
Washington: India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong attended the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the US Department of State on Tuesday. The meeting focused on a wide range of regional and global issues, including counterterrorism efforts. Addressing the gathering, Mr Jaishankar strongly condemned terrorism and referred to India's recent counterterrorism response, including Operation Sindoor, which was launched after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. "A word about terrorism in the light of our recent experience. The world must display zero tolerance. Victims and perpetrators must never be equated and India has every right to defend its people against terrorism and we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that," Mr Jaishankar said. He also reiterated the broader strategic goals of the Quad. "I am very pleased to be back in DC for the second time this year for Quad's Foreign Ministers' Meeting, and let me begin by saying we are all committed to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. To that end, our endeavours are devoted to promoting a rules-based international order. The nations of the Indo-Pacific must have the freedom of choice so essential to make the right decisions on development and security," he said. Highlighting the recent advancements made by the Quad across several sectors, he stated, "In the last few months, we have made significant progress in the Quad's initiatives. They include the maritime domain, logistics, education, and political coordination. We will be discussing that in greater detail." On structural changes within the Quad, Mr Jaishankar noted, "The working of the Quad has been made more efficient through streamlining the working groups. A more cohesive, nimble and focused Quad will help deliver. Quad is about deepening convergence and expanding our common ground. I value our consultations on different dimensions of the Indo-Pacific in that regard. A lot is happening in the world and I hope our exchange of views will be very valuable for all of us." He also announced India's intention to host the next Quad Summit. "India plans to host the next Quad Summit. We have some proposals on how to make it productive, and sure so do our partners. We will discuss and I am sure we will agree," he said. "Once again I thank Secretary Rubio for hosting us today and I look forward to our discussions," Mr Jaishankar concluded. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya also addressed the meeting, emphasising the strategic relevance of the Indo-Pacific region in the current global context. "Currently, there is turmoil in the Middle East and Europe. The Indo-Pacific region, where all four countries are located, is the engine of the global economy, accounting for more than half of the world's population. The peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region are essential for the prosperity of the international community. The four countries in the region have an important role in ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region," Iwaya said. He added, "Today I am looking forward to engaging in the strategic discussions on the current international situation. Additionally, to exchange views on future cooperation that will benefit countries in the region in order to advance the realisation of the free and open Indo-Pacific." The Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment of the member countries to a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific, while also underlining India's strong stance on counterterrorism and regional development. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
India will exercise right to defend against terror: EAM
External affairs minister S Jaishankar called for the world to display a 'zero tolerance' policy on terrorism during his visit to the US for the Quad foreign ministers' meeting on Tuesday, asserting that New Delhi will continue to exercise its right to defend itself against acts of terror. (From left) External affairs minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts from Australia, Penny Wong, Japan, Takeshi Iwaya, and the US, Marco Rubio, in Washington, DC on Tuesday. (REUTERS) 'Just finished a very productive meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers in Washington DC. Discussed how to make Quad more focused and impactful on contemporary opportunities and challenges. Today's gathering will strengthen strategic stability in the Indo - Pacific and keep it free and open,' Jaishankar said in a post on X after the meeting. Earlier, the external affairs minister strongly asserted India's right to hit back at terror. 'A word about terrorism in the light of our recent experience. The world must display zero tolerance. Victims and perpetrators must never be equated. India has every right to defend its people against terrorism and we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that,' Jaishankar said during his opening remarks at the Quad foreign ministers' meeting. On Monday, Jaishankar had inaugurated an exhibition in New York highlighting the human costs of terrorism. During his remarks, Jaishankar also highlighted plans to streamline the operations of the four-nation grouping ahead of a leaders-level summit scheduled to be hosted by India later this year. 'India plans to host the next Quad Summit. We have some proposals on how to make that productive. I am sure so do our partners. We will discuss, and I am sure that we will agree,' Jaishankar said. He pointed to the Quad's work in maritime affairs, logistics, political affairs and education as evidence of significant progress. The grouping's key focus area remained securing the Indo-Pacific region, he said. 'We are all committed to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. To that end, our endeavours are devoted to promoting a rules-based international order. It is essential that nations of the Indo-Pacific have the freedom of choice so essential to make the right decisions on development and security,' Jaishankar added. According to people aware of the matter, Jaishankar is set to take key meetings in the Pentagon with America's defence bureaucracy on Tuesday as well as a further bilateral meeting with Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong. Jaishankar met Japan's foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya earlier on Tuesday. Jaishankar's visit came ahead of a planned visit in a few months' time for the India-US 2+2 strategic dialogue, which brings the foreign and defence ministers of both countries together for high-level talks. The Quad meeting comes at a sensitive time for the four-nation grouping. For India, this will be the first time Jaishankar will meet in-person with US secretary of state Marco Rubio after the India-Pakistan military clashes in May. India and the US have disagreed publicly over Washington's exact role in negotiating a ceasefire between New Delhi and Islamabad. Added to this are concerns over the Trump administration's decision to host Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir in Washington DC this month. Washington has also faced tensions with Australia and Japan. Tokyo reportedly cancelled a high-level 2+2 meeting with counterparts in Washington after the US pushed for Japan to hike defence spending. America's decision to review the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact has also caused concern in Australia. 'It's hard to ignore that fact that trade and defence disagreements loom over this foreign ministerial but there is an expectation these Quad partners will rise above their bilateral differences to focus on advancing their shared core concerns of technology cooperation, maritime security and a multipolar Asia,' said Sameer Lalwani, non-resident senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. 'While Indian leaders may be understandably frustrated by recent US-Pakistan engagements, the Quad ministerial offers a path to higher status and resumed de-hyphenation. India has the opportunity to fully implement the Quad's Indo-Pacific Partnership For Maritime Domain Awareness project which will burnish India's credentials as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region,' Lalwani said.
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
We expect Quad to understand our position on terror: Jaishankar
At the first Quad foreign ministers' meeting after Operation Sindoor in May, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that India expects its Quad partners to understand and appreciate that the country has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and it will exercise that right. 'A word about terrorism in the light of our recent experience — the world must display zero tolerance. Victims and perpetrators must never be equated. And India has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that,' Jaishankar said in remarks to the media ahead of the meeting in Washington DC with his counterparts from the US, Australia and Japan. On April 22, 26 people were killed in a terror attack in Pahalgam. On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, striking terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which was followed by four days of military confrontation between India and Pakistan. Jaishankar later described the Quad meeting as 'very productive' and said they 'discussed how to make the Quad more focused and impactful on contemporary opportunities and challenges'. 'Today's gathering will strengthen strategic stability in the Indo Pacific and keep it free and open,' he said. 'We are all committed to ensure a free and open Indo Pacific. To that end, our endeavours are devoted to promoting a rules-based international order. It is essential that nations of the Indo Pacific have the freedom of choice, so essential to make right decisions on development and security,' he said. Jaishankar said that in the last few months, 'we have made significant progress' in Quad initiatives, including 'maritime domain, logistics, education and political coordination'. He said the Quad is about 'deepening our convergence and expanding our common ground'. The working of the Quad is being made more efficient by streamlining the working groups, and a more cohesive, nimble and focused Quad will help deliver better, he said. He added that India plans to host the next Quad Summit. This is Jaishankar's second Quad foreign ministers' meeting this year — the first was on January 21, a day after US President Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Quad is a 'very important partnership that has developed over the years and… really taken wing in the last few months'. He said he was focussed on 'diversifying the global supply chain of critical minerals, not just access to the raw material, but also access to the ability to process and refine it to usable material'. 'It's critical for all technologies and for all industries across the board, and so having a diverse and reliable global supply chain is just one example of many that we can focus on and build upon,' Rubio said. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the importance of the Quad partnership 'is highlighted by the urgency of the strategic challenges that we all face'. 'Unfortunately, we meet in the backdrop of conflict and of escalating competition. So it has never been more important for us to harness collective strength, peace, for stability, for prosperity in the Indo Pacific and for all our peoples,' she said. 'The Indo Pacific region, where our four countries are located, is the growth engine of the global economy, accounting for more than half of the world's population… peace and stability of the Indo Pacific region are essential for the prosperity of international community,' Japan Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said. Jaishankar also met Iwaya and Rubio separately for bilateral meetings. Earlier in the day, Jaishankar called the Pahalgam attack 'an act of economic warfare'. 'It was meant to destroy tourism in Kashmir, which was the mainstay of the economy. It was also meant to provoke religious violence because people were asked to identify their faith before they were killed,' he said in an interview to Newsweek. 'So we decided that we cannot let terrorists function with impunity. The idea that they are on that side of the border, and that, therefore, sort of prevents retribution, I think, that's a proposition that needs to be challenged and that is what we did,' he said. He said Pakistan-based terrorists carrying out attacks against India don't operate in secret. These are terror organisations which have the 'equivalent of their corporate headquarters in the populated towns of Pakistan,' he said. 'Everybody knows what is the headquarters of organisation A and organisation B and those are the buildings, the headquarters that India destroyed' in Op Sindoor, he said. 'We are very clear that there will be no impunity for terrorists, that we will not deal with them any longer as proxies and spare the government which supports and finances and, in many ways, motivates them. We will not allow nuclear blackmail to prevent us from responding,' he said. Responding to a question on US President Donald Trump's claim that he used trade to stop the India-Pakistan conflict, and whether that has affected trade negotiations between Delhi and Washington, Jaishankar said: 'No, I don't think so. I think the trade people are doing what the trade people should be doing, which is negotiate with numbers and lines and products and do their trade-offs. I think they are very professional and very, very focused about it.' He said there is a national consensus in India that 'our dealings with Pakistan are bilateral'. 'And in this particular case, I can tell you that I was in the room when Vice President (J D) Vance spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi on the night of May 9, saying that the Pakistanis would launch a massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things,' he said. 'And the PM was impervious to what the Pakistanis were threatening to do. On the contrary, he indicated that there would be a response from us. This was the night before, and the Pakistanis did attack us massively that night, we responded very quickly thereafter,' Jaishankar said. 'And the next morning, Mr Rubio called me up and said the Pakistanis were ready to talk. So I can only tell you from my personal experience what happened. The rest I leave to you,' he said.
India Gazette
4 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"India has every right to defend its people against terrorism": EAM Jaishankar at Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting
Washington, DC [US], July 2 (ANI): India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong attended the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the US Department of State on Tuesday. The meeting focused on a wide range of regional and global issues, including counterterrorism efforts. Addressing the gathering, Jaishankar strongly condemned terrorism and referred to India's recent counterterrorism response, including Operation Sindoor, which was launched after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. 'A word about terrorism in the light of our recent experience. The world must display zero tolerance. Victims and perpetrators must never be equated and India has every right to defend its people against terrorism and we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that,' Jaishankar said. He also reiterated the broader strategic goals of the Quad. 'I am very pleased to be back in DC for the second time this year for Quad's Foreign Ministers' Meeting, and let me begin by saying we are all committed to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. To that end, our endeavours are devoted to promoting a rules-based international order. The nations of the Indo-Pacific must have the freedom of choice so essential to make the right decisions on development and security,' he said. Highlighting the recent advancements made by the Quad across several sectors, he stated, 'In the last few months, we have made significant progress in the Quad's initiatives. They include the maritime domain, logistics, education, and political coordination. We will be discussing that in greater detail.' On structural changes within the Quad, Jaishankar noted, 'The working of the Quad has been made more efficient through streamlining the working groups. A more cohesive, nimble and focused Quad will help deliver. Quad is about deepening convergence and expanding our common ground. I value our consultations on different dimensions of the Indo-Pacific in that regard. A lot is happening in the world and I hope our exchange of views will be very valuable for all of us.' He also announced India's intention to host the next Quad Summit. 'India plans to host the next Quad Summit. We have some proposals on how to make it productive, and sure so do our partners. We will discuss and I am sure we will agree,' he said. 'Once again I thank Secretary Rubio for hosting us today and I look forward to our discussions,' Jaishankar concluded. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya also addressed the meeting, emphasising the strategic relevance of the Indo-Pacific region in the current global context. 'Currently, there is turmoil in the Middle East and Europe. The Indo-Pacific region, where all four countries are located, is the engine of the global economy, accounting for more than half of the world's population. The peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region are essential for the prosperity of the international community. The four countries in the region have an important role in ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,' Iwaya said. He added, 'Today I am looking forward to engaging in the strategic discussions on the current international situation. Additionally, to exchange views on future cooperation that will benefit countries in the region in order to advance the realisation of the free and open Indo-Pacific.' The Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment of the member countries to a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific, while also underlining India's strong stance on counterterrorism and regional development. (ANI)
