If partners don't grasp India's terror concerns, ties suffer: Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has said that a lack of understanding among India's partners about the cross-border terrorism it faces affects bilateral relations, in remarks that appeared to refer to the state of India-United States ties at a time of renewed Washington-Islamabad engagement.
Mr. Jaishankar was speaking at a conversation hosted by the Asia Society in New York, moderated by Daniel Russel, a former American diplomat and a distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. The event was held as the high-level week of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly concluded, and was attended by members of the Indian-American and diaspora community as well as policy experts.
Asked about India-U.S. relations, particularly in the context of developments related to trade and tariffs over the past year, and what would be needed to put the relationship on a "better track," Mr. Jaishankar said: "Well, I think if I stand back and look at the relationship... I note that much of the world has had a more difficult relationship with the U.S. I mean that may not be a consolation, but that's a reality."
He referred to the United States' ties with Pakistan, which have seen an upswing over the past year, especially in the months after the second term of the Donald Trump administration began in January 2025.
One of the issues at hand "pertains to the sensitivities of each country," Mr. Jaishankar said. "What for us in India is particularly important is the issue of terrorism. That we feel that... as a country perhaps there are very few countries which have been subjected to the kind of terrorism that we have from a neighbour as part of a deliberate, conscious policy over many, many decades," he said, referring to Pakistan.
"Now, if something which matters so deeply to us, there isn't enough understanding or appreciation or empathy of that, I think that creates a problem too. That you know if... one of my primary concerns is not fully appreciated by my partner, then clearly there is an impact of that on the relationship," he said, referring to India-U.S. ties.
Months into the second Trump administration, the India-U.S. relationship faced turbulence over issues including tariffs, trade, Russian energy purchases by Delhi, and Washington's renewed engagement with Pakistan.
The remarks come against the backdrop of two significant episodes. On April 22, 2025, 26 civilians, mostly tourists, were killed in a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, carried out by The Resistance Front, a proxy of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. In May 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation.
Through 2025, and as recently as his address to the UN General Assembly last week, Mr. Trump has claimed that he stopped the conflict between India and Pakistan. India has consistently denied any third-party intervention.
In June 2025, after returning from the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also attended, Mr. Trump hosted Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir for lunch at the White House. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Munir met Mr. Trump again at the White House during the UN General Assembly session in September 2025. Mr. Trump has publicly praised Field Marshal Munir on various occasions, calling him a "Great General. Great Field Marshal, a great guy."
Mr. Jaishankar said India would certainly hope for and expect the relationship to move on an upward trajectory. "But I have to be real about the issues that we confront, and to the extent we are able to move ahead on some of these issues, I think we'll have a better relationship," he said.
