'It will eventually come to haunt you': Jaishankar warns West about ignoring Pakistan's terrorism

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has warned the West that terrorism will haunt them one day if it continues to ignore Pakistan-based terrorism.

In an interview with Euractiv in Brussels, Jaishankar stressed that Pakistan-sponsored terrorism was not just an Indian problem but a world problem. He reminded that Osama bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda leader who presided over the September 11 attacks, was found living in Pakistan.

“There was a man named Osama bin Laden. Why did he, of all people, feel safe living for years in a Pakistani military town, right next to their equivalent of West Point? I want the world to understand — this isn’t merely an India-Pakistan issue. It’s about terrorism. And that very same terrorism will eventually come back to haunt you,” said Jaishankar.

Laden was killed in a US special forces operation in 2011 in a compound in Pakistan’s Abbottabad. The house was essentially next door to Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), which is the equivalent of the US Military Academy, popularly called as West Point. Not just Laden but Khalid Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the principal architect of the Sept. 11 attacks, was found living just minutes away from the Pakisitani Army headquarters.

Jaishankar is in Brussels to hold talks with the European Union (EU) leaders. He has so far met EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, EU Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, among other officials. India and EU are currently engaged in negotiations for a trade deal and the subject is expected to have figured prominently in these meetings.

Jaishankar on West’s double standards

Jaishankar also criticised the West on their double standards when it came to territorial aggression.

Jaishankar said that while the West now expands India to join hands regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Western nations remained friendly with Pakistan even as it invaded India just weeks after Independence.

“India has the longest-standing grievance — our borders were violated just months after independence, when Pakistan sent in invaders to Kashmir. And the countries that were most supportive of that? Western countries. If those same countries —who were evasive or reticent then— now say ’let’s have a great conversation about international principles’, I think I’m justified in asking them to reflect on their own past,” said Jaishankar.

In October 1947, Pakistan invaded Jammu and Kashmir, which was under negotiations with India for accession at the time. Even after J&K acceded to India, Pakistan continued the invasion and India and Pakistan fought a full-fledged war. Pakistan continues to illegally occupy parts of J&K to this date.