Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Jul 3: The Quad foreign ministers have issued a joint statement condemning the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack "in the strongest terms," calling it a “reprehensible act” and urging swift action to bring its perpetrators, organisers, and financiers to justice. While the statement expressed solidarity with the victims and reaffirmed commitment to counterterrorism, it notably avoided naming either Pakistan or the perpetrator group, The Resistance Front (TRF), despite India’s hopes for a stronger, more explicit response.
The attack, which claimed 26 lives — including 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen — and injured several more, marked one of the deadliest incidents of cross-border terrorism in recent years. It was also the first Quad ministerial meeting since the attack and the subsequent India-Pakistan conflict that escalated into Indian airstrikes targeting Pakistani airbases.
In his opening remarks at the meeting in Washington, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called on the Quad — comprising the US, Australia, Japan, and India — to stand firmly with India in its right to defend its citizens from cross-border terrorism. He underlined the expectation that the grouping of leading Indo-Pacific maritime democracies would fully appreciate the national security threat India faces from across the border.
The Quad statement echoed language used in the earlier UN Security Council condemnation of the attack, urging “all UN Member States… to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities” under international law and Security Council resolutions. Like the UNSC, the Quad refrained from naming TRF or Pakistan directly — a diplomatic outcome shaped, sources say, by pressure exerted by Pakistan and its ally China during UNSC deliberations.
Despite India’s push for a stronger reference to the perpetrator and its sponsor, the statement instead reaffirmed a general condemnation of terrorism in all forms, including cross-border terrorism, and renewed Quad’s commitment to collective counterterrorism cooperation. Each member of the Quad had already issued separate statements condemning the Pahalgam attack in the days following the incident. India was particularly keen on a joint condemnation to amplify the international message and isolate Pakistan for its ongoing support to terror outfits operating across the Line of Control.
The omission of specific references to Pakistan-based terror groups contrasts with previous Quad declarations. After the July 2024 Tokyo ministerial, for example, the Quad had explicitly mentioned 26/11 and Pathankot attacks, calling out Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and urging concerted global action against UN-proscribed entities.
This time, however, the tone was more restrained — a reflection of the complex geopolitical undercurrents that often shape multilateral diplomacy. Still, India sees value in the symbolic weight of a joint Quad condemnation, even as it continues to press its case for stronger international accountability for state-sponsored terrorism.