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S Jaishankar on cross-border terrorism: ‘Answer can’t have any rules'
S Jaishankar said there has been a change in the foreign policy of the country since 2014 in the way terrorism is dealt with.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday asserted his government's commitment to respond to cross-border terrorism, saying the answer to terrorists cannot have any rules.
S Jaishankar's firm statement comes when a report in The Guardian alleged that India's external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), conducted operations deep inside Pakistan to neutralise wanted terrorists, ANI reported.
During an interaction with youths in Majharashtra's Pune, EAM referenced the Mumbai attack during the Congress-led UPA government's tenure. He said that following the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, all were of the opinion to respond to Pakistan but the UPA government engaged in numerous discussions, ultimately concluding that “the cost of attacking Pakistan is more than the cost of not attacking it.”
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"Something like Mumbai happens, if you don't react to it, how can you prevent the next one from happening?" Jaishankar said, ANI reported.
"They (terrorists) should not think; we are this side of the line, so no one could attack us. Terrorists do not play by any rules. The answer to terrorists cannot have any rules," he added.
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Jaishankar said there has been a change in the foreign policy of the country since 2014 in the way terrorism is dealt with. “There is 50 percent continuity and there is 50 percent change. That one change is on terrorism,” he added.
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When asked about the most challenging country to maintain relationships with Jaishankar responded,, “There are countries with whom you can ask would we maintain relationships... Today the biggest challenge is Pakistan... Narendra Modi came only in 2014, but this problem did not begin in 2014. It started in 1947... In no situation is terrorism acceptable, or if any nation uses terrorism to try and bring you to the negotiating table, then it shouldn't be accepted.”
EAM S Jaishankar was in Pune at the launch of the Marathi translation of his book 'Why Bharat Matters'.
