The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has firmly rejected claims that India informed Pakistan before launching Operation Sindoor, clarifying recent statements made by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. This rebuttal comes in response to allegations made by opposition leaders, particularly Rahul Gandhi, who accused the government of compromising national security by supposedly giving Pakistan advance notice of the operation.

Operation Sindoor was India's military response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 civilians were killed. The operation involved precision strikes against terrorist infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The controversy arose after S. Jaishankar stated that India had sent a message to Pakistan "at the start of the operation," clarifying that the strikes were targeting terrorist infrastructure and not the Pakistani military. This statement was interpreted by some as meaning that India had informed Pakistan before the operation began, a claim that the MEA has strongly denied.

The MEA has clarified that Jaishankar's remarks were being "utterly misrepresented". The message to Pakistan was conveyed at the beginning of the operation, in its early phase, not before its commencement. The MEA's external publicity division emphasized that Jaishankar clearly stated, "we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Op Sindoor's commencement". The ministry called out the "utter misrepresentation of facts".

Several sources confirm that the Press Information Bureau's (PIB) Fact Check Unit also debunked the claims that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor. The PIB stated that Jaishankar was being misquoted and had not made any such statement.

Jaishankar himself has stated that India's dealings with Pakistan will be strictly bilateral. He also reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stance that talks with Pakistan would only focus on terrorism. Jaishankar emphasized that Pakistan has a list of terrorists who need to be handed over and that they must shut down terrorist infrastructure. Furthermore, he added that the only thing remaining to be discussed regarding Kashmir is the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Operation Sindoor has resulted in a heightened state of alert, with field commanders being granted operational freedom to respond to provocations. India has also been actively countering ceasefire violations, including drone incursions from Pakistan. Indian air defense units successfully thwarted a drone offensive by Pakistan, destroying over 600 drones using a multi-layered air defense system.

The operation, which has drawn global support, has also led to a proposed boost of approximately Rs 50,000 crore to India's defense budget to enhance R&D and weapon purchases.