Rajnath Singh arrived here on Wednesday evening amid anti-India protests organized by terror groups including the United Jehad Council – a militant amalgam of groups fighting in Kashmir but based in Pakistan.
Advertisement
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”. However, Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup clarified that it was within the protocol of the SAARC meetings to telecast only the opening program.
While addressing the SAARC home ministers’ meet in Islamabad, Rajnath Singh had said, “There should be no glorification or eulogising of terrorists as martyrs”. When Chidambaram had gone there as Home Minister, his Pakistan counterpart Abdul Rahman Malik had received him, he said.
“Why were no guarantees sought by the Indian government before the Home Minister visited Pakistan?” he asked. “Immediate and effective action is required against all those who support or encourage global terrorism in any way, whether they are state or non-state actors”. There are no good terrorists or bad terrorists. The inaugural session was shown live when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan made welcome speeches. The Interior/Home Ministers’ of SAARC nations were with Sharif for about 20 minutes during which only pleasantries were exchanged, the official said, adding nothing formal was discussed.
“Merely strong condemnation of such terrorist attacks is not enough”.
Fourth, while the decision to keep even the official Indian media out during Singh’s speech may have been as per protocol – the MEA repeated what it had said on Thursday – the Indian delegation noted the “cold” and “even hostile” behaviour of their Pakistani hosts. Asserting that a terrorist in one nation can not be a martyr in another nation, India urged SAARC nations to extradite persons involved in supporting terrorism. However, the Pakistani Interior Minister left the venue immediately after the meeting got over.
Rajya Sabha says Shame on blackout of Singh’s speech.
Before leaving for Islamabad to attend the day-long conference, Singh had said he was “looking forward to underscore the imperative of meaningful cooperation within the region against terrorism and organised crime”.
Nisar at one point outrightly said that there is a difference between terrorism and struggle for freedom probably referring to the uprising in Kashmir.
Ever since Rajnath Singh stepped on Pakistani soil yesterday, different organizations and political parties are rallying in Islamabad and other countries against Indian atrocities in occupied valley.
Advertisement
Asked about a quadrilateral counterterrorism alliance formed by China in association with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, he said: “We don’t view it as counterproductive that China pursues closer ties – certainly in the security and counterterrorism fields with Central Asian countries”.
