New Delhi [India], January 17 : The Ministry of External Affairs reiterated India's firm position against terrorism, and said the menace in whichever form, needs to be fought "tooth and nail".
In a veiled attack on Pakistan, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has called out countries who promote cross-border terrorism.
Asked about Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's remarks about the presence of terrorist training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Jaiswal said, "On cross-border terrorism, we are very clear what our position has been. We have been conveying even in the last presser we talked about it. We are very firm that terrorism in whatever way it exists, wherever it exists, it needs to be fought tooth and nail and we have clearly called out countries who promote cross-border terrorism."
Earlier on January 14, Rajnath Singh said that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is being used to operate terrorism and terrorist training camps still operate there. He stated that Jammu and Kashmir is incomplete without PoK.
While addressing veterans during the celebration of the 9th Armed Forces Veterans' Day programme at Tanda Artillery Brigade in Akhnoor, he said, "PoK is being used to operate terrorism. Training camps for terrorists are still operating from PoK and launch pads have been built in the areas adjacent to the border. The Indian government knows everything. Pakistan will have to end them."
The Defence Minister said that the people living in PoK are being deprived of a dignified life. He said that efforts are being made by the rulers of Pakistan to mislead and incite them against India in the name of religion.
"Efforts are being made by the rulers of Pakistan to mislead and incite them against India in the name of religion. The venom that the illegal Prime Minister of PoK has recently spewed against India is a part of Pakistan's conspiracy. What PoK's Prime Minister Anwarul Haq is saying today is the same anti-India agenda that the rulers of Pakistan have been running since the time of General Zia-ul-Haq," he said.
"PoK is the jewel in the crown of India. In any case, PoK is nothing more than a foreign territory for Pakistan," he added.
In October last year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticised Pakistan for fuelling cross-border terrorism in South Asia, which he believes is the primary reason for the struggles faced by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
He also cited cross-border terrorism as the key obstacle to SAARC's progress, pointing to one member state's practice of cross-border terrorism at least against one more member.
While delivering the Sardar Patel Lecture on Governance organised by the IC Centre for Governance in New Delhi, Jaishankar said, "At the moment, SAARC is not moving forward, we haven't had a meeting of SAARC for a very simple reason - there is one member of SAARC who is practicing cross-border terrorism at least against one more member of SAARC, maybe more... Terrorism is something which is unacceptable and despite a global view of it, if one of our neighbours continues to do it - there cannot be business as usual in SAARC. That's the reason why the SAARC meeting has not happened in recent years - but it doesn't mean that the regional activities have stopped."
He added, "In fact, in the last 5-6 years, we have seen far more regional integration in the Indian subcontinent and we have seen since the participation of India. If you look today with Bangladesh, with Nepal, with Bhutan, with Myanmar, with Sri Lanka... you have roads being rebuilt... you have ferries, you have fertiliser supplies...So I would actually say that what is happening in the neighbourhood, it is happening because of the Neighbourhood First policy."
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