The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday strongly refuted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar had informed Pakistan before the launch of Operation Sindoor, calling it an “utter misrepresentation of facts.”

In a statement, the MEA’s XP Division said, “The EAM had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start — which clearly refers to the early phase after the commencement of Operation Sindoor. This is being falsely represented as occurring before the operation began. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out.”

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The MEA’s clarification followed Mr. Gandhi’s accusation that Jaishankar had committed a “crime” by allegedly informing Pakistan in advance of the airstrikes.

Mr Gandhi posted a video clip on his WhatsApp channel, in which Jaishankar is heard saying: “At the start of the operation, we sent a message to Pakistan, saying we are striking a terrorist infrastructure. We are not striking the military. So, the military has an option of standing down and not interfering in this process.”

Citing this statement, Gandhi wrote on X: “Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. 1. Who authorised it? 2. How many aircraft did our Air Force lose as a result?”

However, the government has dismissed the claims as misleading. The Fact Check Unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) clarified that no such admission was made by the EAM.

In a separate clarification, the PIB also denied reports that Jaishankar had claimed Chinese satellites aided Pakistan during its military standoff with India.

The political exchange comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor — India’s retaliatory action following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.