Terror has no laws, so will counter action, says EAM
PUNE: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that India was committed to respond to any act of terrorism perpetrated from across the borders, and asserted that since terrorists do not play by rules, there cannot be any rules in the country’s answer to them.
Attacking the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) dispensation over its response to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, Jaishanker said that after a lot of deliberation at the government level, nothing fruitful came out at that time as it was felt that the cost of attacking Pakistan was more than not attacking it.
Interacting with youth on Friday at an event titled ‘Why Bharat Matters: Opportunity for youth and participation in global scenario’ here, he asked that if a similar attack happens now and one does not react to it, how can the next such attacks be prevented.
Jaishankar also said that the country’s foreign policy has undergone a change since 2014 and it is the way terrorism is dealt with.
When asked about countries with which India finds it challenging to maintain relationships, Jaishankar said India should question whether it should maintain any relationship with certain countries.
“We have to be very clear in our minds about terrorism; under no circumstances is terrorism acceptable from any neighbour or from anyone who uses terrorism to force you to sit across the negotiating table. This should never be accepted,” he said.
The EAM mentioned that sometimes he is asked about the continuity in India’s foreign policy and he responds clearly that there is 50 per cent continuity and 50 per cent change. He emphasized that if something like Mumbai happens and you do not react to it, how can you prevent the next one from happening? “They (terrorists) should not feel that since they are across the border, no one can touch them. Terrorists do not play by any rules. The response to terrorists cannot have any rules,” he said.
We have to be very clear in our minds about terrorism; under no circumstances is terrorism acceptable from any neighbour or from anyone who uses terrorism to force you to sit across the negotiating table
—S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister