External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar ripped into Pakistani media after the latter tried to change the narrative on terrorism by accusing New Delhi of spreading terror. The EAM not only showed the mirror to Pakistan but also advised Islamabad to try to be a good neighbour.
S Jaishankar was addressing the media on Thursday at the UN Security Council stakeout when a Pakistani journalist asked, “How long South Asia will see terrorism from New Delhi, Kabul and Pakistan? How long they will be at war? How about the UN Security Council resolution on Kashmir?”
Answering the question in his classic way, Jaishankar said, “You are asking the wrong minister when you say ‘How long we will do this?’ Because it is the minister of Pakistan who will tell you- How long Pakistan intends to practice terrorism?”
“At the end of the day, the world is not stupid, the world is not forgetful. The world does increasingly call out countries and organisations and people who indulge in terrorism. And by taking the debate elsewhere you are not going to hide it. You are not going to confuse it with anyone anymore. People have figured it out,” the EAM added.
n a sharp retort, Jaishankar said, “So my advice is please clean up your act. Please try to be a good neighbour. Please try to contribute to what the rest of the world is trying to do today: economic growth, progress and development.”
Calling Pakistan an “epicentre” of terrorism, the EAM asserted that the international community has not forgotten where the menace stems from, despite the brain fog induced by over two years of Covid-19.
“In terms of what they are saying, the truth is everybody, the world today, sees them as the epicentre of terrorism… I know we’ve been through two and a half years of Covid and a lot of us have brain fog as a result. But I assure you the world has not forgotten where terrorism emanates from, who has their fingerprints over a lot of activities in the region and beyond the region,” he to reporters.
Jaishankar also recalled US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2011 remark wherein she told the Pak Foreign Minister that if you have snakes in your backyard, you can’t expect them to bite only your neighbours. “Standing next to her (Pak FM Hina Rabbani Khar), Hillary Clinton actually said that if you have snakes in your backyard, you can’t expect them to bite only your neighbours. Eventually, they will bite the people who keep them in the backyard. But as you know, Pakistan is not great at taking good advice. You see what’s happening there.”
