Pakistan has attempted to amplify what was a courtesy handshake between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq in Dhaka.
The exchange took place on the sidelines of the funeral of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, which Sadiq and Jaishankar attended. It was among the few visible contacts at the senior level since relations deteriorated earlier this year following the Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 tourists were killed in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan’s National Assembly Secretariat, Pakistan issued a press release and claimed that the handshake occurred when Jaishankar approached Ayaz Sadiq during the event, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
The press release said that since the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan has “consistently emphasized dialogue, restraint and cooperative measures, including proposals for peace talks and joint investigations…to prevent unprovoked aggression and escalation.”
India-Pakistan relations came under severe strain earlier this year following the terror attack in Pahalgam, after which India undertook calibrated diplomatic and strategic measures to safeguard national security.
In response to the attack, India scaled down diplomatic engagement and initiated policy steps reflecting its long-standing position that dialogue cannot coexist with terrorism. Among these measures was the suspension of participation in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a landmark 1960 agreement brokered by the World Bank, highlighting the seriousness with which India viewed the security situation.
India also restricted cross-border transit and other bilateral engagements, reiterating that any engagement requires demonstrable action against terrorism and accountability for attacks targeting civilians.
Against this backdrop, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in response to the attack.
Indian Armed Forces carried out precision strikes against terror camps operated by Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). India subsequently repelled Pakistani escalation and targeted its airbases.
India has consistently emphasized that any engagement with Pakistan must be based on mutual respect, verifiable security assurances and a terrorism-free environment, while firmly safeguarding its national interests.
