Commenting on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s terse speech in Islamabad during the seventh SAARC Home Ministers meeting, BJP leader Prem Shukla has said Singh should be appreciated for the way he has unmasked the ill-intentions of Pakistan on its own soil.
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On why Pakistan’s Interior Minister Choudhary Nisar Ali Khan left the lunch organised by him for SAARC ministers, Singh said, “I don’t want to comment on how they treated me”.
It is true that Doordarshan, ANI and PTI reporters who had come from India were not allowed to enter the SAARC meet venue, Singh said while Rajya Sabha MPs shouted “Shame”.
He clarified that it also needs to be ensured that terrorism is not glorified and is not patronised by any state.
Referring, albeit not directly, to Sharif’s earlier statement, Singh said, “One country’s terrorist can not be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone”.
On the question of skipping lunch hosted by the Interior Minister of Pakistan he said: “We were invited by the Interior Minister for lunch after the meeting was over”.
Referring again to the unrest in India-held Kashmir, he said that no country should suppress freedom struggles while camouflaging them under the guise of terrorism. “Trafficking of drugs, coupled with the problem of fake currency, feeds into supporting terrorism and creates economic instability in our region”, said Singh, calling for action not just against terrorists or organisations but also against those individuals or even nations who support terrorism.
According to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, the Pakistani interior minister said that “using torture against innocent children and violence against civilians qualifies as terrorism”. Singh also sought immediate ratification of Saarc Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. He gave a summary of the events that unfolded over there, briefly addressing the controversy surrounding the blacking out of his speech in the Pakistani media.
No bilateral meeting between the Indian home minister and his Pakistani counterpart took place on the sidelines of the ministerial conference that ended Thursday.
Stressing for greater regional prosperity and cooperation between South Asian countries, Singh, however, said that mounting threats and terror incidents endanger region’s peace and stability.
Without mincing words, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said there are “no good terrorists or bad terrorists”.
“When I was going to the hotel, some people were standing and protesting”. Mr Yadav expressed satisfaction over Home Minister’s stand over terrorism in SAARC meeting.
Singh, apparently referring to the ban imposed by the United Nations on Hafiz Saeed’s JuD, said that he had suggested to the SAARC Ministers that sanctions and bans imposed against terrorists by the global community have to be honoured. “While the rest of the proceedings are in camera, which allows for a full and frank discussion of issues”, Indian media quoted government sources as saying.
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In Islamabad, the home minister criticised the Pakistan government for describing slain pro-Pakistan Kashmiri rebel commander Burhan Wani as a “martyr”.
