"Bad Neighbours": S Jaishankar Shreds Pakistan, Then A Stern Warning

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday called Pakistan a "bad neighbour" and said that India has the right to defend its people against terrorism.

Speaking to students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, the minister said that "nobody can tell us what we should or should not do", in an apparent reference to Operation Sindoor.

India last year exercised its right to defend its people against terrorism through Operation Sindoor and targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the wake of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in April, which was perpetrated by The Resistance Front, a proxy of Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

"You can also have bad neighbours. Unfortunately, we do. When you have bad neighbours, if you look to the one to the west, if a country decides that it will deliberately, persistently, and unrepentantly continue with terrorism, we have a right to defend our people against terrorism. We will exercise that right," Jaishankar said.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: On being asked about India's neighbourhood policy, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, "... You can also have bad neighbours. Unfortunately, we do. When you have bad neighbours, if you look to the one to the west. If a country decides that it will deliberately,… pic.twitter.com/8w6dgDHLtc

— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2026

"How we exercise that right is up to us. Nobody can tell us what we should or should not do. We will do whatever we have to do to defend ourselves," he added.

The minister also spoke about the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 with Pakistan, which was suspended after the deadly Pahalgam attack.

My interaction with students at @iitmadras #Chennai
https://t.co/9DcdQqJtf9

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) January 2, 2026

"Many years ago, we agreed to a water-sharing arrangement, but if you had decades of terrorism, there is no good neighbourliness. If there is no good neighbourliness, you don't get the benefits of that good neighbourliness. You can't say, "Please share water with me, but I will continue terrorism with you." That's not reconcilable," he said.

He said that India is blessed with "a lot of neighbours of various kinds".

"If you have a neighbour who is good to you or at least who is not harmful to you, your natural instinct is to be kind, to help that neighbour, and that's what we do as a country," he said.

Jaishankar had last month said that "much of India's problems" emanate from the Pakistani army.

Like there are good terrorists and bad terrorists, there are good military leaders and apparently not-so-good ones, he said, which was seen as a reference to Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Operation Sindoor

Tensions between India and Pakistan worsened following the Pahalgam attack on April 22, which left 26 civilians dead.

India, after finding cross-border links to the attack, launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, striking multiple terror camps in Pakistan and PoK and killing over 100 terrorists.

Pakistan then launched a massive missile and drone attack, which was intercepted by India.

In retaliation, Indian armed forces struck airfields in Pakistan. A ceasefire was announced on May 10.