SCO Foreign Ministers’ Meet: Jaishankar slams Pak, calls Bilawal promoter of terrorism industry

“You know, victims of terrorism do not sit together with perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism. The victims of terrorism, defend themselves, counter acts of terrorism, they call it out, they delegitimise it and that is exactly what is happening.”

“So, to come here and preach these hypocritical words, as though we are on the same boat, I mean, they are committing acts of terrorism. And you know, I don’t want to jump the gun on what happened today (referring to the attack in J&K in which 5 soldiers were killed) but I think we are all feeling equally outraged. Let’s be very, very clear on this terrorism matter. I will say Pakistan’s credibility is depleting even faster than its forex reserves,” he said.

Responding to questions on Pakistan raising objections to India hosting G20 meetings in Srinagar, he said, “They have nothing to do with G20. In fact, they have nothing to do with Kashmir. There is only one issue to discuss on Kashmir which is when does Pakistan vacate its illegal occupation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.” He said Jammu and Kashmir “was, is and will” always be part of India.

Responding to another question on Bhutto Zardari raising the issue of revocation of Article 370 in J&K, he said, “Wake up and smell the coffee. Article 370 is history.”

On the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s statement that “peace is the destiny”, he said, “Whether peace is destiny or not, terrorism is not destiny.”

On Bhutto Zardari’s comment that “let’s not get caught up in weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point-scoring”, Jaishankar said it “unconsciously reveals a mindset”.

“What does weaponising something mean? …It means that the activity is legitimate. But it’s not. Now what are we doing? We are countering this, we are defending ourselves. We are calling it out. We are not scoring diplomatic points. We are politically and diplomatically exposing Pakistan before the world,” he said.

Asked by a Pakistani journalist whether the visit of the Pakistan Foreign Minister could be seen as a “breakthrough” in ties, Jaishankar said, “He came as a member of SCO country, and don’t see it more than that.”

Sources said Jaishankar took on Bhutto Zardari after the latter, through his media interactions, sought to play the victim card by pointing a finger at India, and raised the issues of the revocation of Article 370, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

New Delhi, sources said, took the call to respond to Bhutto Zardari after he turned the spotlight on bilateral issues, away from the focus of the visit which was the meeting of the SCO Foreign Ministers.

After Bhutto Zardari addressed a press conference around 5 pm – visiting Pakistani journalists were present but the Indian media was kept out – Jaishankar briefed journalists, including Pakistan’s journalists and took a question from one of them, around 6.30 pm, and countered the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s statements with carefully-crafted responses.

Earlier, Bhutto Zardari said that people of Pakistan had suffered from terrorism, and cited the example of his mother being a victim of a terror attack – former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. He had also said that CPEC was a force multiplier for the region in the context of connectivity.

Jaishankar said that this “so-called CPEC” violated India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Speaking of the “trust deficit” between the two countries, Bhutto Zardari said there was nothing personal with Jaishankar, and both were articulating their positions as Foreign Ministers. “He put forward his views, I put forward mine…There is nothing personal in politics and diplomacy,” he said.

He also said that “sports should not be held hostage to politics or diplomacy”, and “it will be petty for India to not allow Pakistan’s cricket team” for the World Cup in India.

New Delhi’s discomfiture with these statements, sources said, was reflected in Jaishankar’s remarks since Bhutto Zardari’s comments were at odds with Pakistan’s actions.