Jaishankar’s tough talk on Pakistan: ‘Era of uninterrupted talks is over’
Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Delivering a stern message on India’s stance towards Pakistan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar declared that the era of “uninterrupted dialogue” is over.
He stated that “actions have consequences,” in an obvious reference to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, reaffirming New Delhi’s firmly held position that terror and talks cannot go together.
“The era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over. Actions have consequences,” Jaishankar said while issuing a stern warning to Pakistan and those who support terror attacks on India. He was speaking at a book launch event in the Capital on Friday.
“The issue is... what kind of relationship can we contemplate with Pakistan...” he said while responding to a question about ties with Pakistan.
When asked if India is content with the current state of relations, he replied: “Maybe yes, maybe no... but what I do want to say is that we are not passive, and whether events take a positive or negative direction... either way, we will react.”
India’s relationship with Pakistan is volatile, with terror attacks from across the border in Jammu and Kashmir often raising tensions and reaching flashpoints. New Delhi has frequently raised concerns over Pakistan’s support—both financial and logistical—of cross-border terrorism, teral and international forums.
In March, during a visit to Singapore, Jaishankar lamented Pakistan’s “almost industry-level” sponsorship of terrorism and terror activities but stressed that “India will not skirt this problem...” “How do you deal with a neighbour who does not hide the fact that they use terrorism as an instrument of statecraft? It’s not a one-off... but very sustained, almost at an industry level,” he said.
The External Affairs Minister also argued that Pakistan’s core strategy has been to “use cross-border terrorism to bring India to the table,” but India has rendered that policy ineffective by refusing to engage on those terms.
Jaishankar also addressed the situation in Bangladesh, which has faced political instability, turmoil, and violence following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.
The neighbouring country has also witnessed targeted attacks on the minority Hindu community and their temples.
“It is natural we will deal with the government of the day,” Jaishankar said, acknowledging that regime changes can be disruptive.
A couple of months ago, Jaishankar had reiterated India’s zero-tolerance stance on cross-border terrorism and made it clear that New Delhi would not, under any circumstance, overlook terror attacks.
