The Quad collective of Australia, India, Japan and the US on Tuesday condemned the Pahalgam terror attack at the foreign ministers’ meeting, but the joint statement made no mention of Pakistan while calling for the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of “this reprehensible act” to be brought to justice without delay.

“The Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, and renews our commitment to counterterrorism cooperation. We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, 2025, which claimed the lives of 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen, while injuring several others,” the statement said.

Since naming Pakistan in the joint statement would have been a tough ask given the bilateral relationships the other three capitals in the grouping have with Islamabad, India had to settle for the reference to “cross-border terrorism”.

Commenting on the flak the government was drawing from different quarters for failing to get a mention of Pakistan in the joint statement, former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal posted on X: “The wording of the Quad statement is… essentially directed at Pakistan without naming it. The onus has been made more broad-based for diplomatic reasons. Naming Pakistan would have serious repercussions on the relations with Pakistan of the other Quad countries, especially the US.”

Apart from calling for action against the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of the terror attack, the statement also urged all UN member states to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Before the meeting with his counterparts, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar had told the media: “A word about terrorism in the light of our recent experience — the world must display zero tolerance. Victims and perpetrators must never be equated. And India has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that.”

Again, there was no mention of Pakistan.

In a curious development, the defence ministry revised its readout on minister Rajnath Singh’s conversation with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth to remove the mention of “Pakistan’s long track record of cross-border terrorism”.

No explanation was provided for the removal of
the reference.