External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar poses for a photograph with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, in Goa. (AP)
Jaishankar asserted that Jammu and Kashmir “always was, is and will remain a part of India”.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asked his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to “wake up and smell the coffee” in response to his remarks on the abrogation of Article 370 during the SCO meeting in Goa on Friday and said that Jammu and Kashmir was ” is, is and will always be a part of India.
Addressing the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held in Benaulim, Goa, Zardari raised the issue of “violation of international law”, which was seen as an apparent reference to Kashmir and the abrogation of Article 370.
Reacting to the statement, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar urged Pakistan to “wake up and smell the coffee”. “370 is history. The sooner people realize it, the better,” he said.
#Watch , On a question on abrogation of Article 370, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar says, “… wake up and smell the coffee. 370 is history. The sooner people realize it, the better.” pic.twitter.com/Enbv4nu7dt– ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2023
“There is only one issue to be discussed in Kashmir and that is about the illegally occupied Pakistan occupied Kashmir,” he said. Jaishankar asserted that Jammu and Kashmir “always was, is and will remain a part of India”.
In his address, Pakistan’s foreign minister talked about the need to ensure respect for universally recognized principles and said, “Unilateral and illegal measures by states in violation of international law and Security Council resolutions are against SCO objectives.” are opposite.” He added, “We need to be clear in upholding our commitments and building a new future for our people. One that is based not on conflict protection but on conflict resolution.”
In August 2019, relations between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India announced the withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir’s special powers and split the state into two union territories.
When asked if there could be talks between India and Pakistan to deal with this problem, the External Affairs Minister said, “Victims of terrorism do not sit with perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism.”
Bhutto Zardari also appeared to take a dig at India as she called for not getting caught up in “weaponizing terrorism for scoring diplomatic points”.
Jaishankar took strong objection to the statement and said such statements “unwittingly reveal a mindset”. Emphasizing that India is combating terrorism and defending itself, he said, “We are calling it out, we are calling it out and some of it is what you asked for, ” They said.
“For me, it is not about scoring diplomatic points. We are politically (and) diplomatically exposing Pakistan to the world. And being a victim of terrorism, I am fully entitled to do so Jaishankar said.
Bhutto Zardari’s presence at the SCO meeting in Goa made him the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India in nearly 12 years.
The External Affairs Minister said that Bhutto Zardari came to India as Foreign Minister of SCO member country and this is part of multilateral diplomacy. He said, “Don’t look at it as anything more than that.”
He also said that Bhutto Zardari was the “promoter, justifyer and spokesman” of the terrorism industry and that his position on this threat was called for in the SCO meeting.
(With inputs from PTI)
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