Jaishankar calls Pakistan foreign minister 'terrorism spokesperson,' Bilawal responds
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari exchanged some bitter barbs over terrorism, overshadowing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers' Summit that concluded in Goa. While Jaishankar called him the "promoter, justifier, and spokesperson of a terrorism industry," Bhutto Zardari termed it "hatred" and even accused India of weaponizing the issue of terrorism for "diplomatic point scoring."
Why does this story matter?
Given the strained ties, the much-awaited SCO meeting, which concluded on Friday, was an important platform for India to engage diplomatically with member states Pakistan and China. The SCO also provides a channel for India and China to connect outside the South Asian region's geopolitical arena. The latest conference was marred, however, by a heated verbal altercation between the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers.
Terrorism victims don't sit together with perpetrators: Jaishankar
While taking a swipe at Bhutto Zardari on Friday, Jaishankar said, "Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism." "Bhutto Zardari came as foreign minister of an SCO member state; that's part of multilateral diplomacy, and we don't see anything more than that," he said. "On terrorism, Pakistan's credibility is depleting even faster than its forex reserves," Jaishankar added.
Jaishankar called for joint efforts against terrorism
Meanwhile, Jaishankar also advocated for joint efforts to combat terrorism at the SCO conference. "We must not allow anybody—individual or state—to hide behind non-state actors... Taking our eyes off this menace would be detrimental to our security interests," he added.
False propaganda led to insecurity: Bhutto Zardari
However, terming his India visit a success, Bhutto Zardari claimed false propaganda led to insecurity which was broken with his participation at the SCO meeting. "He (Jaishankar) says the victims of terrorism and the perpetrators should not sit together. This is hatred. Have I once even in my political history accidentally sat down with a terrorist?" he said in a press conference in Pakistan.
SCO summit overshadowed by India-Pakistan barbs
Reportedly, the SCO meeting was overshadowed by India-Pakistan barbs after Bhutto Zardari, taking a clear swipe at India, said, "Let's not get caught up in weaponizing terrorism for diplomatic point scoring." Countering him, Jaishankar said, "Somebody says you are weaponizing terrorism, that means they think terrorism is legitimate, that we should not weaponize it... It spoke so much about a mindset of that country."
Mention of Article 370 triggered bitter exchange
Earlier, Bhutto Zardari spoke about the abrogation of Article 370 on the sidelines of the summit. "Unless India reviews the action it took on August 5, 2019, Pakistan is not in a position to engage bilaterally with India," he said in response to a query. Jaishankar termed his comments a "violation of international commitment" and said, "Article 370 is history."
