Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar of committing a “crime” by informing Pakistan before launching an airstrike.

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

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Asserting that the “EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it,  Mr Gandhi asked “who authorised it?…..How many aircrafts did our airforce lose as a result?”

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 airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) ndhi/status/1923691824142569642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>May 17, 2025

However, the government has since refuted the allegations saying Mr Gandhi’s claims were “misleading.” The Fact Check Unit of the Press Information Bureau clarified that no such admission was made by the EAM.

In yet another clarification, the PIB unit also denied reports that Mr Jaishankar had said Chinese satellites assisted Pakistan during its military confrontation with India.

The accusations and clarifications assume significance as they come in the aftermath of India’s Operation Sindoor, a retaliatory response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.