India has the right to defend its people and will exercise that right as it deems necessary, he added.

Jaishankar: India Will Defend Itself Against Bad Neighbours

On January 2, 2026, External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar articulated India’s neighbourhood policy. He stressed the country’s sovereign right to defend itself in the face of persistent cross-border threats. Addressing a gathering at IIT Madras, he said India can have “Bad Neighbours … unfortunately, we do,” in a clear reference to Pakistan, whose ties with New Delhi have been strained, especially after the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.

Jaishankar emphasised that if a neighbouring state “decides that it will deliberately, persistently and unrepentantly continue with terrorism,” India has the right to defend its people and will exercise that right as it deems necessary, he added. He also said that “nobody can tell us what we should or should not do,” underscoring India’s strategic autonomy in responding to security threats.

Referring to the Indus Waters Treaty, which was suspended after the terror attack, Jaishankar noted that longstanding cooperation such as water-sharing was premised on goodwill and good neighbourliness. “If there is no good neighbourliness, you don’t get the benefits of that good neighbourliness,” he said, arguing that cooperation cannot coexist with sustained hostility.

According to Jaishankar, his comments reflect New Delhi’s firm stance that security and diplomacy are interlinked and that India’s neighbourhood policy balances cooperation with readiness to protect its sovereignty.

Source: Times of India