New Delhi: It was a display of verbal one-upmanship between two neighbours at the kick-off of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa. External affairs minister S. Jaishankar raised “cross-border terrorism”, and Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari responded by claiming that countries should go beyond “weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point scoring”.
Bhutto Zardari’s visit to India was a rare trip across the border since high-level contact between the two South Asian countries had come down drastically.
But, it was made clear even before he arrived on Indian soil that there would be no bilateral encounter and that the journey was only for the SCO meeting.
At the official dinner on the evening of Thursday, May 4, Jaishankar shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and sat at the same table with other foreign ministers. But, it was out of the range of any photographic lens and even the Pakistani side had refused to give it any importance beyond routine courtesy.
The host usually stands outside the venue of the meeting to greet his main guests with a handshake, as Jaishankar did at the G-20 foreign ministers meeting. But, this time, Jaishankar only greeted all his SCO counterparts with a ‘namaste’, which meant that he did not have to shake hands with the Pakistan FM in front of the cameras. As expected, bilateral relations remain frozen and there is no indication of an appetite for demonstrating any breakthrough in bilateral ties.
Hosted colleagues in Goa to the Meeting of SCO Council of Foreign Ministers.
Welcomed enthusiastic participation of all members in 100+ meetings. Particularly delighted that Varanasi hosted several events as the first SCO Cultural & Tourist Capital.
Noted that current crises… pic.twitter.com/pEPiJm7jgB
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 5, 2023
During his opening statement, Jaishankar expressed that, even with the world facing other global challenges, it would be harmful to security interests to divert attention from the “menace” of terrorism.
“We firmly believe that there can be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism,” he said. While Jaishankar didn’t take any names, the reference to cross-border terrorism is always a code phrase, in Indian diplomatic parlance, for Pakistan’s sheltering of terror groups targeting India.
“The channel of finances for terrorist activities must be seized and blocked without distinction. Members need not be reminded that combating terrorism is one of the original mandates of the SCO,” he added.
While Jaishankar’s opening statement was streamed live by the MEA, the rest of the session was closed to the media. However, the Pakistan foreign ministry live-tweeted Bilawal’s speech, and also released the text.
Stating that terrorism threatens global security, the Pakistan foreign minister asserted, “Let’s not get caught up in weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point scoring”.
FM @BhuttoZardari urged to collectively eradicate the menace of terrorism
💬" Let’s not get caught up in weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point scoring"#PakFMatSCO pic.twitter.com/H5awOoQDF5
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) May 5, 2023
He reminded listeners that his mother, former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, had been killed in a bomb blast, with questions still alive on who was behind it.
“When I speak on this topic, I do so not only as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan whose people have suffered the most in terms of number of attacks and number of casualties. I also speak as the son whose mother was assassinated at the hands of terrorists. I feel the pain of this loss, empathise with victims across the world a way most can’t,” he said.
Stating that Pakistan was committed to combatting terrorism, he said that global efforts required a collective approach to address “root causes as well as the threats posed by specific groups”.
“Our success requires us to isolate this issue from geo-political partisanship,” added the Pakistan foreign minister.
Responding to frequent Indian allegations, he stated, “We must stop conflating non-state actors with state actors. Condemn all forms of terrorism including state-sponsored terrorism”.
Pakistan stated that given many SCO members face the menace of terrorism, he suggested that the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) “needs to be further strengthened to effectively address the growing threats to peace and security in the SCO space”.