S. Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister, discussed India’s tie-ups with its neighboring countries, underlined that relations with Pakistan remain strained due to its support for cross-border terrorism, during the 19th Nani A Palkhivala Memorial Lecture.
According to news agency ANI, S. Jaishankar stated this “cancer” of terrorism is now consuming Pakistan’s political landscape.
As Jaishankar spoke about the challenges faced in India’s neighborhood, ANI quoted him as saying, “India’s challenge has been to rebuild a neighborhood in the aftermath of the partition. It is now doing so through a generous and non-reciprocal approach, funding and supporting energy, rail and road connectivity, expanding trade and investment and intensifying exchanges and contacts”.
Jaishankar continued, while speaking about Pakistan, “Pakistan remains the exception in our neighborhood in view of its support for cross-border terrorism, and that cancer is now consuming its own body politic”.
EAM stated, while using recent historic instances, “In times of crisis, be it the pandemic or the economic meltdown, India has actually served as an insurance for its smaller neighbors. Sri Lanka discovered that in 2023, when India put together a package of more than USD 4 billion even while the rest of the world didn’t. It is also a reality that political developments may throw up complex situations as we are currently witnessing in Bangladesh. The very purpose of closer cooperation and contacts is actually to address such contingencies at the end of day. It is the mutuality of interest that should be counted upon to prevail”.
While speaking about India’s other two neighbors, Afghanistan and Myanmar, Jaishankar stated, “We in India have long-standing people-to-people ties with both societies and we must be mindful that those more proximate have stakes which are quite different from others far away”.
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