France [Paris], May 7 (ANI): France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed concern over the situation between India and Pakistan, and also acknowledged India's desire to protect itself against terrorism, but emphasised the need for restraint.

'We strongly condemned the terrorist attack on 22 April, which left 26 civilians brutally murdered in India,' Barrot said.

He mentioned his efforts to support a United Nations Security Council statement condemning the attack, saying, 'I was even in New York last week to support the adoption of a statement by the United Nations Security Council condemning this terrorist attack.'

Further, he added, 'We understand India's desire to protect itself against the scourge of terrorism, but we obviously call on both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint in order to avoid escalation and, of course, to protect civilians.'

The Minister expressed concern due to the military capabilities of both countries. 'I am very concerned about the situation. These are two major military powers, which is why we are calling for restraint,' he added.

Barrot plans to engage with both Indian and Pakistani counterparts to promote de-escalation. 'I spoke with my Indian counterpart last week and will speak with him again in the next few hours, either today or tomorrow. I will do the same with my Pakistani counterpart to do my part in this collective effort,' he said.

He concluded by emphasising the importance of avoiding a lasting confrontation between the two nations. 'I believe that no one, absolutely no one, has any interest in a lasting confrontation between India and Pakistan,' Barrot stated.

On Wednesday morning, India carried out precise strikes against terrorist infrastructure in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.

Notably, the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force jointly carried out the operation, mobilising assets and troops. The strikes on all nine targets were successful.

The Indian forces selected the locations to target top Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders involved in sponsoring terrorist activities in India.'Operation Sindoor,' which targeted nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Ministry of Defence was in direct response to the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen and injured several others.

According to the Defence Ministry, these strikes were carried out in response to the 'barbaric' terrorist attack in Pahalgam, where 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed. (ANI)