External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Wednesday took a sharp swipe at the West over its “free advice” on violence and unrest at several places in the world. Interacting with the Indian community during his visit to Luxembourg, Jaishankar referred to Operation Sindoor, after which several countries had voiced worries, and schooled the West to focus on its own region when it comes to levels of violence.
The EAM said that several countries prioritise their own direct interests and lecture others instead of focusing on challenges within their own regions.
“In this day and age, countries will do things only if it is of direct benefit to them. They'll offer you free advice. If something happens, they'll say, please don't do that. It worries us if there is tension. Sometimes you hear people say, as happened during Operation Sindoor. Now, if you ask them, oh really, you're worried, why don't you look at your own region and ask yourself, what are the levels of violence there, how much risk have been taken, how much worry the rest of us have about what you are doing? But that's the nature of the world. People, what they say is not what they do. We have to accept it in that spirit as well," Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar tears into Pakistan over terrorism
Jaishankar said that India engages with each of its neighbours based on their conduct. Describing Pakistan as an exception, he said terrorist camps continue to operate openly there and that Pakistan has normalised this behaviour, treating it as a matter of right.
"There are some exceptions. For us, the relationship with Pakistan is an exception. Show me in the world in this day and age any country which actually has actually pursued the kind of policies that Pakistan has against its neighbour. For decades, you had these training camps, not secret training camps; they're all training camps in the big cities of Pakistan, very open, where the state, the military supports terrorism, and they try to normalise it as though it's their right to do it,” the EAM said.
“Nobody buys it anymore. Everybody knows that these are people who are supporting the state. It's a very unpalatable reality but it's one which we cannot be oblivious to. We have to build our policies, saying okay, that's how that particular neighbour is going to be. Those who are willing to work with us and be helpful, positive, we'll have to deal with them in that way. Those who do the kind of things which Pakistan does, we'll have to deal with it in a different way," he added.
