‘…wake up and smell the coffee’: says S Jaishankar on repeal of Article 370 at SCO summit
Union Foreign Minister Dr S. Jaishankar said on April 5 that Article 370 is now a thing of the past and the sooner people realize it, the better it is for them.
Speaking at a press conference in Goa after the meeting of SCO foreign ministers, he said, “…wake up and smell the coffee. 370 is a thing of the past. The sooner people realize it, the better.” He was answering a question about the repeal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir.
Jaishankar made it clear that Pakistan) has nothing to do with the G20 and nothing to do with Srinagar. “There is only one issue to discuss about Kashmir and that is when Pakistan will abandon its illegal occupation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” says EAM Dr. S.Jaishankar.
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As for the bilateral talks with Pakistan, Jaishankar ruled out the option until Pakistan addresses India’s concerns about cross-border terrorism. He said: “Victims of terrorism do not sit with perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism.”
“Victims of terrorism are defending themselves, countering acts of terrorism, they are calling it out, they are legitimizing it and that is exactly what is happening. To come here and preach these hypocritical words as if we are on the same boat,” he said when asked about the ties between India and Pakistan.
When asked how his Pakistani counterpart India was treated, the minister said: “As a foreign minister of an SCO member state, Mr. Bhutto Zardari was treated accordingly. As a promoter, justifier and spokesperson for a terrorism industry that is the mainstay of Pakistan, his views were called for and contradicted, including at the SCO meeting itself.”
“He came here as foreign minister of an SCO member state. That’s part of multilateral diplomacy. Don’t think of it as anything more than that. I don’t think anything he said or what I heard him say deserves to be treated more than that,” Jaishankar added.
Earlier in the day, S Jaishankar expressed concern about terrorism, including cross-border terrorism. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrived in Goa on Thursday, the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister to India in nearly 12 years.
With input from agencies.