Expressing strong support for India after the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, Germany has said that the country has every right to defend itself against terrorism.

Addressing a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, “We were all appalled by the brutal terrorist attack on India on April 22. We condemn this attack on civilians in the strongest terms. Our deepest sympathy goes out to all victims and their families.”

“After military attacks on both sides… and India, of course, has every right to defend itself against terrorism… the fact that a truce is in place is something we appreciate very much,” he added. 

Underlining another key point from the Indian perspective, following offers of mediation from the US and President Donald Trump, the minister continued, “What is important now is that this truce remains stable, that dialogue can happen to find bilateral solutions.”

The fact that India will deal with Pakistan only bilaterally has been stressed by India repeatedly since Mr Trump offered to mediate on the Kashmir issue. The Centre has said that any talks with Pakistan will be bilateral and will be restricted to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. 

This was emphasised again by Mr Jaishankar during the press conference. 

“India will deal with Pakistan purely bilaterally. There should be no confusion in any quarter in that regard,” he said. 

In his first speech after Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India will not give in to nuclear blackmail by Pakistan and Mr Jaishankar underscored this as well.

“I come to Berlin in the immediate aftermath of India responding to the Pahalgam terror attack. India has zero tolerance for terrorism. India will never give in to nuclear blackmail… We also value Germany’s understanding that every nation has the right to defend itself against terrorism,” the minister said. 

Operation Sindoor

Earlier this month, India struck terror bases in at least nine locations in Pakistan – including the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur – as part of Operation Sindoor, which was a response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, in which 26 people were killed.

Pakistan responded by attempting to attack Indian military installations and civilian locations by launching drones and missiles on three successive days, but was thwarted by India’s air defence systems. India, in turn, first took out some of Pakistan’s air defence systems, including in Lahore, and then struck key military bases like the all-important Nur Khan airbase, also known as the Chaklala airbase.

Pakistan then sought a ceasefire and India agreed to a pause in hostilities. India has made it clear, however, that it will respond decisively to any terror attack which has its origins in Pakistan.

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, M Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Manimaran Siddharth, Will O’Rourke.

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis(c), Abishek Porel(w), Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Tristan Stubbs, Dushmantha Chameera, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh Kumar

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah