On Friday, MEA S Jaishankar welcomed his Pakistani counterpart Bhutto Zardari with a namaste, along with other foreign ministers of SCO countries.
When Pakistan's Bilawal Bhutto left for India for SCO foreign ministers’ meet, Pakistan's media hoped that after his visit, relations between the two countries could once again improve. But on Friday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made it clear that terrorism and talks cannot go together. He also lashed out at Pakistan for its hypocrisy and called Bilawal the spokesperson of the terrorist industry.
In an unsparing attack, Jaishankar accused Bhutto of being a 'promoter, justifier and a spokesperson of a terror industry'. His remarks come after Bhutto's statement wherein he called Pakistan a victim of terrorism. Jaishankar's counter-attack on Bhutto came on a day when there was outrage over the death of five Army soldiers in an encounter with terrorists in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Bhutto also indirectly raked up the Kashmir issue at the SCO meet in Goa. While expressing Pakistan's commitment to fighting terrorism, Bhutto Zardari also appeared to take a swipe at India as he called for not getting caught up in "weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point-scoring". On Pakistan's tackling of terrorism, Jaishankar said the country's credibility is depleting even faster than its forex reserves.
Moreover, Jaishankar has made it clear that now the talk will not be on Kashmir but on PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir). Jaishankar also trashed Pakistan's objection to holding a G-20 meeting in Srinagar and asserted that Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and will" always be part of India.
Asked whether there could be talks between India and Pakistan on combating the menace, the external affairs minister said, "Victims of terrorism do not sit together with perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism.
READ | 'Promoter, justifier and spokesperson of terrorism industry': S Jaishankar slams Pak minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
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 "DNA Special: Will Bilawal Bhutto's visit to India for SCO meet have any impact on India-Pakistan relations?")
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