World sees Pakistan as 'epicentre' of terrorism: EAM Jaishankar

The world sees Pakistan as the epicentre of terrorism and it should clean up its act and try to be a good neighbour External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said asserting that the world has not forgotten where the menace stems from He also recalled former US Secretary of State Hillary Clintons blunt message to Islamabad that snakes in ones backyard will eventually bite those who keep themJaishankar was addressing reporters on Thursday at the UN headquarters after chairing a signature event held under Indias presidency of the Security Council on Global Counterterrorism Approach Challenges and Way ForwardResponding to a question by PTI on Pakistan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khars recent statements about a dossier and allegations against India he said I saw I read the reports on what minister Khar said And I was reminded more than a decade ago my memory serves me right Hillary Clinton was visiting Pakistan And Hina Rabbani Khar was a minister at that timeAlso Read 2611 will never ever be forgotten says Jaishankar pays tribute to victims of Mumbai terror attackStanding next to her Hillary Clinton actually said that if you have snakes in your backyard you cant expect them to bite only your neighbours Eventually they will bite the people who keep them in the backyard But as you know Pakistan is not great at taking good advice You see whats happening there Jaishankar recalledDuring her visit to Islamabad in October 2011 Clinton addressed the media with Pakistans then Foreign Minister Khar and said Its like that old story you cant keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbours Eventually those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyardWe asked very specifically for greater cooperation from the Pakistani side to squeeze the Haqqani network and other terrorists because we know that trying to eliminate terrorists and safe havens on one side of the border is not going to work Clinton had saidJaishankar said the world today sees them Pakistan as the epicentre of terrorism Now I know weve been through twoandahalf years of Covid and a lot of us have brain fog as a result But I assure you the world has not forgotten where does terrorism emanate who has their fingerprints over a lot of activities in the region and beyond the regionSo I would say that its something which they should remind themselves of before indulging in the kind of fantasies which they do he added This week Pakistan shared a dossier of Indias alleged involvement in a blast outside Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeeds residence in Lahore on June 23 last yearWhen asked by a Pakistani journalist how long South Asia is going to see terrorism disseminating from New Delhi Kabul and Pakistan Jaishankar said You know youre asking the wrong minister when you say how long will we do this Because it is the ministers of Pakistan who will tell you how long Pakistan intends to practice terrorism At the end of the day the world is not stupid the world is not forgetful And the world does increasingly call out countries and organisations and people who indulge in terrorism he saidBy taking that debate elsewhere you are not going to hide it Youre not going to confuse anybody anymore People have figured it out So my advice is please clean up your act Please try to be a good neighbour Please try and contribute to what the rest of the world is trying to do today which is economic growth progress and development Jaishankar said I hope through your channel that message goesIn response to a question on concerns over Taliban in Afghanistan supporting terror groups like Al Qaeda Jaishankar said after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August last year the Security Council had expressed concerns of the international community in regards to Afghanistan as a whole through a resolutionI think that remains very much the sentiment and outlook of the international community One of the key expectations there is that Afghanistan will not again serve as a base for terrorism against other countries and we expect whoever has authority in Afghanistan to respect and honour that he saidThe Security Council in its resolution 2593 2021 that was adopted under Indias August 2021 presidency of the Council had said that Afghan soil should not be used for terrorism to threaten or attack any country to shelter or train terrorists or to plan or finance terrorist actsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever