No Fireworks, But Terrorism And CPEC Mentioned By Jaishankar At SCO

Indian's External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar addressed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government Summit in Islamabad on Wednesday. While there was no heated exchange or war of words between India and Pakistan this time, the Indian minister made a veiled reference to Pakistan and China on the issue of terrorism and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Islamabad: Indian’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar addressed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government Summit in Islamabad on Wednesday. While there was no heated exchange or war of words between India and Pakistan this time, the Indian minister made a veiled reference to Pakistan and China on the issue of terrorism and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Speaking at the plenary, Dr. Jaishankar said, “And as the Charter spelt out, this means being firm and uncompromising in countering the ‘three evils’. If activities across borders are characterized by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in parallel.”

The minister highlighted the need for “mutual trust”, “friendship” and “good neighbourliness”. But, the challenges were lack of trust and inadequate cooperation among the member states. Speaking of unilateral decisions that impact interests of any country in the region he said, were reasons to introspect. “If friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address,” he said.

He also raised India’s concerns regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China which has been a huge issue of violation of Indian territory. Without naming China, Jaishankar said, “There is no question that our region would benefit immensely if we take this forward. Not just that, others too would draw their own inspiration and lessons from such efforts.”

Adding, “However Excellencies, to do that, cooperation must be based on mutual respect and sovereign equality. It should recognize territorial integrity and sovereignty. It must be built on genuine partnerships, not unilateral agendas. It cannot progress if we cherry-pick global practices, especially of trade and transit.”

The Indian Minister for External Affairs last week had said he would not discuss bilateral relations when he visits Pakistan mid-month. “I expect there would be a lot of media interest because of the very nature of the relationshipâ€æBut I do want to say it will be for a multilateral event. I am not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations,” Jaishankar said in response to a query at an event in New Delhi.

“I am going there to be a good member of the SCO but since I am a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly,” he added.

While there has been no major war of words between the two sides, for now a structure bilateral meeting has been ruled out. However, there could be a possibility of an informal conversation or a pull-aside.