NEW DELHI, May 12. /TASS/. India will hold talks with Pakistan only on counterterrorism and Kashmir, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, addressing the nation for the first time since the launch of Operation Sindoor.
According to him, "if there are talks with Pakistan, they will be on terrorism. If there are talks with Pakistan, they will be on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir," and nothing else.
"This is not an era of war, but it is not an era of terrorism either," the prime minister added.
"Terror and talks or terror and trade cannot go hand in hand," Modi went on to say. "Pakistan has to dismantle its terror infrastructure, there is no other way to peace," the prime minister added.
"Our army, navy, air force, BSF (India's Border Security Force - TASS) and all other forces remain on alert," Modi warned. "India will not see terrorists and their state sponsors separately," he pointed out.
Indian-Pakistani relations soured after an April 22 terrorist attack in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 25 Indian citizens and one Nepalese.
On the night of May 7, India attacked terrorist bases in Pakistan, calling this operation Sindoor. Pakistan took retaliatory measures.
On May 10, New Delhi and Islamabad agreed on a ceasefire. Following the military talks, an agreement was reached that both sides would cease all firing and military action on the ground. However, hours later, drones were spotted in several cities in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in Punjab and Rajasthan, air defense systems were activated, and power was cut off. On May 12, the Hindustan Times newspaper quoted its sources as saying that India would negotiate with Pakistan only at the military level, with no political contacts possible.