Indian External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, called out Pakistan’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), for using the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) platform to make statements that serve as a “terror mouthpiece.”
Jaishankar was addressing a virtual meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the SCO on Wednesday, where he stated that “We heard the statement by the Pakistan representative today. All of us who follow events know that it is a country which is openly involved in supporting terrorism, as a matter of state policy. This guilt is confirmed daily by the visible evidence of continuing terror actions against its neighbours.”
Jaishankar’s statement was in response to Bilawal Bhutto’s speech at the same meeting where he criticised India’s policies in Jammu and Kashmir and accused India of carrying out “state-sponsored terrorism.”
Jaishankar condemned Pakistan’s use of terrorism as a tool of state policy and called for a collective effort by the SCO to combat terrorism in the region. He also stressed the importance of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, a reference to Pakistan’s support for separatist movements in Jammu and Kashmir.
The SCO is a regional organisation comprising eight member states, including India, China, Pakistan, and Russia, and four observer states. The organisation aims to enhance economic cooperation and promote peace and stability in the region.
In conclusion, the SCO meeting saw Jaishankar condemning Pakistan’s use of terrorism as a state policy and calling for a collective effort by the organisation to combat terrorism in the region. He also called out Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for using the platform to serve as a “terror mouthpiece” and criticised Pakistan’s support for separatist movements in Jammu and Kashmir. The SCO plays an important role in promoting economic cooperation and peace and stability in the region, and it is essential that member states work together to combat terrorism and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.
