New Delhi, May 17 : The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement on Saturday refuting claims that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had asserted India informed Pakistan in advance about Operation Sindoor. The ministry denounced such assertions as a blatant distortion of facts.

The MEA external publicity division said that S. Jaishankar had stated that 'we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Op Sindoor's commencement'.

'This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out,' the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, levelled accusations against the Narendra Modi-led government, alleging that it had notified Pakistan about impending strikes on terror infrastructure under Operation Sindoor.

The senior Congress leader characterised this act as a serious transgression and demanded clarity on who sanctioned the move.

On his X handle he wrote, 'Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI (government of India) did it. 1. Who authorised it? 2. 'How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result'?

Responding to these allegations, the MEA firmly dismissed Gandhi's assertions, emphasising that the EAM's remarks had been misconstrued.

The ministry stressed that India had issued a warning to Pakistan during the initial phase of Operation Sindoor'post-commencement'not beforehand.

The MEA's external publicity division reiterated this point, clarifying that Jaishankar had stated: 'We warned Pakistan at the start, which is evidently within the early phase after Operation Sindoor commenced.'

The ministry condemned attempts to falsely represent this statement as evidence of prior notification.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi vocally criticised EAM Jaishankar's statement, calling the alleged notification to Pakistan a grave misstep.

He questioned the authorisation behind such an action and demanded accountability regarding potential losses incurred by the Indian Air Force as a consequence.

Adding to the controversy, the Kerala unit of the Congress party also circulated a video of S. Jaishankar's statement, pressing the Central government for answers.

However, the Press Information Bureau's fact-checking unit countered these claims, asserting that Jaishankar's words had been misquoted.

The unit clarified: "A social media post falsely implies from External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar's statement that India informed Pakistan before Operation Sindoor commenced. EAM has been misquoted -- he did not make this statement."

/IANS