Revocation of J&K special status a long-awaited move: Jaishankar
WASHINGTON: Describing the abrogation of Article 370 as a “long awaited” step and the “right thing” to do, Union external affairs minister S Jaishankar has said it was expected from Pakistan to pull out all stops to challenge the decision as it had made deep investment in fuelling terrorism in Kashmir.
Asserting that the Indian security forces have exercised highest degree of restraint in Jammu and Kashmir after August 5, Jaishankar told a Washington audience that he expected Pakistan to continue what it had been doing for the past several decades.
“What do you expect the Pakistanis to say (after current restrictions are lifted and normalcy is restored)… we expect calm and happiness to return,” Jaishankar said on Wednesday in response to a question during his appearance at the Heritage Foundation, a top American thinktank. “We have also seen a lot of alarmists rhetoric coming (from Pakistan), not just about false flag, (but also) jihad... going all the way to nuclear weapons. That kind of gives you a sense of responsibility of the people who are saying,” the minister said.
Jaishankar further said the abrogation of Article 370 was not a small step. “What we’ve done, was long awaited. In my view, it was the right thing to have been done. It should have been done many years earlier,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Union minister also conducted several meetings with top US officials, including the secretary of state Mike Pompeo, on issues ranging from Indo-Pacific region and the movement of specialised workers to the welfare of Indian students.
During his meeting with the acting secretary of homeland security Kevin McAleenan, Jaishankar tweeted, “promoting lawful travel, ensuring flow of talent and protecting the interests of students”were among the issues discussed. The “flow of talent” was a reference presumably to Indians travelling to the US on H-1B visas. US defense secretary Mark Esper said, in a tweet, that he and Jaishankar discussed “military cooperation, regional security, technology & future opportunities for us to strengthen our bond”.