Rahul Gandhi criticises S Jaishankar, says ‘India’s foreign policy has collapsed’

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that “India’s foreign policy has collapsed” and asked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to explain New Delhi’s global standing after Operation Sindoor.

In a social media post, Gandhi shared a video clip of Jaishankar answering questions in an interview to Dutch broadcaster NOS on the Pahalgam terror attack and the military tensions between India and Pakistan.

“Why has India been hyphenated with Pakistan?” the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha asked Jaishankar in the post. “Why didn’t a single country back us in condemning Pakistan? Who asked [US President Donald] Trump to ‘mediate’ between India and Pakistan?”

The tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated on May 7 when the Indian military carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which killed 26 persons on April 22.

The Pakistan Army retaliated to Indian strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 22 Indian civilians and seven defence personnel were killed.

On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an “understanding” to halt firing following a four-day conflict.

New Delhi’s announcement on the decision to stop military action came minutes after Trump claimed on social media that...

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