SCO Foreign Ministers’ meet: Jaishankar shows mirror on terror to Pakistan, talks tough on China

India on Friday evening concluded the two-day Foreign Ministers' meet of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the coastal state of Goa. India's foreign minister Dr S Jaishankar, while addressing reporters at the conclusion of the meet, said that the meet laid out the ground for the status of multilateral decisions that will be approved at the upcoming SCO summit in July in New Delhi.

"The meeting also gave an opportunity to dwell on the state of multilateral cooperation in SCO to address regional and global issues of interest," Dr S. Jaishankar said.

Responding to WION's diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal's question on the Chinese side's readout that hailed 'stability' along the western sector, Jaishankar said: "India-China relations are not normal, and cannot be normal if peace and tranquility is not preserved along the border."

Responding to a question on Pakistan's foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's address at the SCO foreign ministers' meeting, Jaishankar said: "As a foreign minister of an SCO member state, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was treated accordingly. But as a justifier and spokesperson of a terrorist industry, his comments were called out."

Asked about Bhutto-Zardari's mention of the so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor which passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir and China-occupied Aksai Chin, parts of India's Jammu and Kashmir, Jaishankar added: "We have made it very clear that connectivity is good for the progress but cannot violate the territorial integrity of a nation."

Further responding to a barrage of questions on Pakistan's record as state-sponsor of terrorism, Jaishankar pointed out, "The victims of terrorism do not sit down with perpetrators of terrorism to talk about terrorism."

"On terrorism, Pakistan's credibility is depleting faster than their forex reserves," Jaishankar said. "There is only one issue to discuss on Kashmir which is when will Pakistan give back Pakistan Occupied Kashmir," he added. 

Responding to a question on Bhutto-Zardari's mention of India's constitutional changes to reverse the semi-autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir with abrogation of Indian constitution's Article 370, Jaishankar said: "I would like to use a phrase “Wake up and smell the coffee”, similarly 370 is history sooner people realise it's better."
 

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