External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stated that India has the right to defend itself against "bad neighbours" that persistently support terrorism, asserting that New Delhi alone will determine its response. Speaking at IIT Madras, he emphasized that cooperation, such as water-sharing agreements, cannot coexist with state-sponsored terrorism. Jaishankar highlighted India's sovereign right to self-defense and rejected external advice on its security decisions, framing retaliation as a necessary response to persistent terrorist threats.