Ajit Doval: India Has No Intent to Escalate, But Ready to Retaliate if Provoked

International

oi-Ruchika Pareek

Published: Wednesday, May 7, 2025, 16:52 [IST]

Following
the
Indian
armed
forces’
targeted
strikes
on
nine
terrorist
camps
in
Pakistan
and
Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir
(PoK)
under
Operation
Sindoor,
National
Security
Advisor
Ajit
Doval
reached
out
to
his
counterparts
across
the
globe
on
Wednesday.
He
conveyed
that
India’s
actions
were
precise,
restrained,
and
non-escalatory
in
nature.
Doval
stressed
that
while
India
has
no
intention
to
escalate
tensions,
it
remains
fully
prepared
to
respond
firmly
if
Pakistan
chooses
to
do
so.

NSA
Doval
spoke
with
a
number
of
important
foreign
counterparts,
such
as
Secretary
General
Ali
Al
Shamsi
of
the
United
Arab
Emirates’
National
Security
Council,
Saudi
Arabia’s
NSA
Musaid
Al
Aiban,
the
United
Kingdom’s
NSA
Jonathan
Powell,
the
United
States
Secretary
of
State
Marco
Rubio,
and
the
United
Arab
Emirates’
Sheikh
Tahnoon.
He
also
had
a
conversation
with
Masataka
Okano,
the
Japanese
NSA.
Additionally,
Emmanuel
Bonne,
the
French
President’s
Diplomatic
Advisor,
Wang
Yi,
China’s
Foreign
Affairs
Minister
and
Politburo
member,
and
Russian
NSA
Sergei
Shoigu
were
contacted.

Doval
described
the
deliberate
and
methodical
nature
of
India’s
operation
during
these
telephone
briefings,
emphasising
that
it
was
conducted
with
the
intention
of
neutralising
terror
infrastructure
in
Pakistan
without
aiming
to
attack
civilian
or
military
installations.
He
reassured
world
leaders
that
the
terror
networks
behind
the
Pahalgam
attack
were
the
exclusive
targets
of
India’s
retaliation.

Two
weeks
after
the
horrifying
terror
assault
in
Pahalgam,
Jammu
and
Kashmir,
which
claimed
the
lives
of
25
Indian
civilians
and
one
Nepali
citizen,
the
talks
were
held
soon
after
the
precise
airstrikes
that
were
carried
out
in
the
early
hours
of
the
morning.
There
was
a
great
deal
of
international
and
Indian
condemnation
of
the
incident.

The
Indian
Army
described
the
strikes
as
part
of
its
larger
plan
to
eradicate
terror
threats
and
reiterated
in
a
statement
its
determination
to
make
those
responsible
accountable.
The
Army
declared,
“We
are
fulfilling
our
promise
that
those
who
carried
out
this
attack
will
be
held
accountable.”

India’s
top
military
leadership
was
reportedly
keeping
a
close
eye
on
the
operation
during
its
execution.
In
order
to
maintain
openness
and
ongoing
diplomatic
engagement
over
India’s
activities
and
regional
stability,
NSA
Doval
added
that
he
will
continue
to
communicate
closely
with
his
international
counterparts
in
the
days
ahead.