Jaishankar talks tough on terrorism at SCO Summit

Panaji/New Delhi: Hardening the stand on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism on a day when the Indian Army lost five of its soldiers in an anti-terror operation in the jungles of J&K’s Rajouri, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Friday lambasted Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and called him a "spokesperson of the terror industry". Mr Jaishankar also asserted that Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and will" always remain a part of India.

Ruling out the possibility of talks between India and Pakistan on combating the menace, the external affairs minister said, "Victims of terrorism do not sit together with perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism."

On the relations between India and China, Mr Jaishankar said that it cannot be normal if peace and tranquillity in border areas are disturbed. "I think the issue is that there is an abnormal position in border areas," he said, adding, "We had a frank discussion about it."

Earlier in the day, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa, Mr Jaishankar told his counterparts from the member nations that terrorism in all forms, including cross-border terrorism, must be stopped. He said, "The channel of finances for terrorist activities must be seized and blocked without distinction".

Addressing the meeting, which saw the participation of Russia’s Sergey Lavrov and China’s Qin Gang, Mr Jaishankar said, "India has proposed a New Delhi Declaration as an SCO Summit Declaration and four other thematic joint statements on cooperation in deradicalisation strategies, promotion of millets, sustainable lifestyles to address climate change and digital transformation" and sought the support of SCO member nations in the timely finalisation of these documents for approval by the leaders at the SCO Summit, which is expected to be held in New Delhi on July 3 and 4.

In his opening remarks at the start of the meeting, Mr Jaishankar, in a thinly veiled message to Pakistan, said that "members need not be reminded that combating terrorism is one of the original mandates of the SCO".

Mr Jaishankar told the participating foreign ministers that "we must not allow anybody, individual or state, to hide behind non-state actors", adding that "the menace of terrorism continues unabated (and that) taking our eyes off this menace will be detrimental to our security interests".

The comments come at a time when Pakistan continues to sponsor cross-border terrorism across the LoC in J&K.

During the SCO meet, Pakistan's foreign minister, without making direct mention of Kashmir, said that while "terrorism continues to threaten global security, let’s not get caught up in weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point scoring". He added that the need is to "isolate this issue from geopolitical partisanship".

Mr Zardari also claimed that his country is committed to combating terrorism and that Pakistan too has suffered enormously from the menace.

Stating that the challenge of terrorism should "unite us to fight it rather than divide us to become its victims", Mr Zardari also claimed that "practical, pragmatic solutions exist for us to put an end to this chapter once and for all and that we must stop conflating non-state actors with state actors".

In his other remarks, the Pakistan foreign minister claimed that his country has been "supporting the peaceful settlement of longstanding international disputes", in what is seen as a reiteration of Islamabad’s position on the matter.

At a separate briefing, when asked about India's plans to host the G-20 meeting in Srinagar later this month, Mr Zardari said that Pakistan will give India a suitable answer that "India would remember" when the time comes. He, however, did say that the two nations should not be hostages to history but rather "create history".

Reacting to Mr Zardari's comments on tackling terrorism, Mr Jaishankar said Pakistan's credibility in dealing with it is depleting even faster than their forex reserves.

The foreign minister said that Pakistan’s attitude revealed a mindset wherein sponsoring terrorism was legitimate. He said that India was diplomatically exposing Pakistan in front of the world.

"Terrorism cannot be our destiny. Look at Pakistan’s credibility. Article 370 is history. Wake up and smell the coffee," the Mr Jaishankar counselled Pakistan.

The external affairs minister said Mr Zardari came to India as foreign minister of an SCO member state and it is part of multilateral diplomacy. "Do not see it as anything more than that," he added.

At present, the SCO has eight member nations -- Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic, plus South Asian nations India and Pakistan. Recently, Iran was also approved to be a full-fledged ninth member of the grouping. Belarus is also set to become the 10th SCO full-fledged member eventually.

India is the current SCO chair. On Friday morning, ahead of the meeting, Mr Jaishankar received the remaining seven foreign ministers with a "namaste" greeting without any handshakes.

In his address, the EAM also emphasised that "the SCO is in its third decade of existence and this is an opportune time for its reform and modernisation to keep the organisation relevant in a rapidly transforming world".

He also pressed for "the long-standing demand of India to make English the third official language of the organisation" and pointed out that "this will enable a deeper engagement with English-speaking member states of the SCO and will take the work of this organisation to a wider global audience".

"With the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical upheavals, the world is today facing a multitude of challenges. These events have disrupted global supply chains, leading to serious impacts on the supply of energy, food and fertilisers and cascading effects on developing nations. These crises have also exposed a credibility and trust deficit in the ability of global institutions to manage challenges in a timely and efficient manner. These challenges, however, are also an opportunity for member states of the SCO to collaborate and address them collectively," the EAM said.

"As the chair of the SCO, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has articulated India's priorities as moving towards a ‘SECURE’ SCO" where ‘SECURE’ stands for "Security, Economic Development, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and Environmental protection," he added.

The issue of connectivity was also raised by India, with Mr Jaishankar underscoring that while connectivity is key to progress, it must come with respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states.

The comment was another veiled message, this time to both Pakistan and China, in the context of the Chinese-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Due to this, India has refused to join the BRI and has instead chosen to focus on other connectivity initiatives that link it through the sea-land route via the Iranian port of Chabahar with Iran, the Central Asian nations and Russia.

On Afghanistan, Mr Jaishankar said, "The unfolding situation in Afghanistan remains at the centre of our attention. Our efforts should be directed towards the welfare of the Afghan people. Our immediate priorities include providing humanitarian assistance, ensuring a truly inclusive and representative government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking and preserving the rights of women, children and minorities."