External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday voiced hope that “good sense would prevail" in Pakistan and the practices of the past would not be followed. He was responding to a question about whether Islamabad as India’s neighbour is an “asset or a liability" to New Delhi, in which the minister also used the example of Pandavas from Mahabharata.
“It is a reality to us. In life, you have what you have. Pandavas could not choose their relatives, we can’t choose our neighbours. Naturally, we would hope good sense prevails and practises of the past are not followed. And in diplomacy, it is important to be hopeful,” news agency ANI quoted Jaishankar as saying.
Commenting on Indus Water Treaty, Jaishankar said, “It will not be right for me to speak publicly about what is happening in Pakistan. This is a technical matter, Indus Commissioners of both countries will talk about the Indus Water Treaty. We can only discuss our future steps after that."
His remarks came days after India issued a notice to Pakistan, through the commissioner for Indus waters, for modification of the Indus Waters Treaty, in view of Islamabad’s lack of cooperation in implementing the IWT.
The EAM, who was in Pune to launch ‘Bharat Marg’, the Marathi translation of his book ‘The India Way’, said India has seen a huge transformation in the last eight to nine years and the country will be a leading power after it becomes ‘atmanirbhar’ (self reliant).
He said his book aims to get people to associate with the nation’s foreign policy and not just listen to the “mandarins" (a term generally used for powerful bureaucrats). He also spoke on China and the challenges the country faces with the ambitious northern neighbour as well as India’s ties with Japan and the role in the Indo-Pacific.
“There are eight chapters. I wanted people to be associated with (the country’s) foreign policy. I want to involve people from other states as well, not just Delhi. I have written this book in simple language and it is an easy read," he said.
Speaking about China, the EAM said it is India’s only neighbour which is a global power and may become a superpower in the years to come. “It is obvious there are challenges when we have such a neighbour. How to manage China is one chapter in my book. I have also written about how Japan will benefit us. After Partition, the nation faced limits but now our influence is right up to the Pacific Ocean," he said.
In the book, Jaishankar said he has also deliberated on the COVID-19 pandemic, the Afghanistan crisis, the Russia-Ukraine war along with how tensions between nations impacts the world.
Jaishankar also touched on the topic of terrorism, saying no nation has suffered from the menace as much as India due to the “neighbour we have", an apparent reference to Pakistan.
Underlining India’s robust stand against terrorism now, he cited the surgical strikes post attacks in Pulwama and Uri and called them “decisive action".
(With PTI inputs)
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