Terror can’t be policy of good neighbour: Jaishankar on Pak
Ajay Banerjee
New Delhi, June 11
A day after hosting heads of several neighbouring countries for the oath-taking ceremony of the third term of the NDA government, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today spoke about the “irritants” in relations with Pakistan and China.
Editorial: India-Pak Impasse
Talking about cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan, the EAM said it could not be the policy of a good neighbour. On China, he mentioned the “pending issues” at the border.
Jaishankar was interacting with the media after formally taking over as the External Affairs Minister on Tuesday.
His remarks on Pakistan come a day after former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made an effort to initiate a conversation with India. Replying to a question on Pakistan, Jaishankar said: “You are aware the issue that has been there for years is cross-border terrorism — how do we find a solution to it (as) this cannot be the policy of a good neighbour.”
Jaishankar mentioned about Sharif’s posts on X and also the response given by PM Modi. On Monday, Sharif greeted Modi and called for a new beginning, asking to replace “hate with hope” and to “seize the opportunity” to shape the destiny of the two billion people of South Asia.
Within two hours, Modi responded. Appreciating the message, the PM made it clear that people of India always stood for “peace, security and progressive ideas”. He said, “Advancing the well-being and security of our people shall always remain our priority.”
On China, Jaishankar spoke about the ongoing military stand-off in eastern Ladakh. He said, “In the case of China, our focus will the situation on the border — there are still some issues pending and how we can resolve them.” This is not the first time that Jaishankar has made his stance clear on the pending resolution of the stand-off with China. India has in the past stated that the restoration of the status quo as of on April 2020 along the LAC was prerequisite for improvement in bilateral ties.
