India: No Talks with Pakistan Until It Ends Terror, Vacates PoK

India has reaffirmed its firm stance against engaging with Pakistan until it takes credible action against terrorism and vacates Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that any future dialogue with Pakistan must be strictly bilateral and contingent upon Islamabad ending cross-border terrorism.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized India’s long-standing position that "talks and terror cannot go together." He stated that discussions on critical matters like trade, the Indus Waters Treaty, or Jammu and Kashmir are off the table unless Pakistan renounces terrorism. “Any discussion on J&K will only be about the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory,” he added.

The comments follow a terror rally in Lahore, where wanted Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives, including Talha Saeed and Muzammil Hashmi, openly threatened India. This comes amidst heightened tensions following Operation Sindoor, where Indian forces targeted terrorist infrastructure in PoK and Pakistan’s Punjab region in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26.

Jaiswal also highlighted India’s diplomatic consistency and rejected third-party mediation, pointing out that both nations continue to maintain diplomatic missions. His remarks respond to recent overtures by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who proposed talks with India during his diplomatic visits to Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan.

India’s position echoes Prime Minister Modi’s statement: “Terror and talks cannot go together. Terror and trade cannot go together. Water and blood cannot flow together.”