 "Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. File Image/Reuters")
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday issued a stern warning to Islamabad, stating that any attempt to use terrorism as an instrument of state policy against India would invite serious consequences.
While answering a question on India-Pakistan relations, Jaishankar said, “India has changed — I wish I could say Pakistan has changed. Unfortunately, they continue to develop bad habits in many ways. When I look back, I would say the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks were a turning point. Indians collectively realised that such behaviour from a neighbour could no longer be tolerated. That feeling was very strong, and it may not have been fully understood by the government at the time. However, after the government changed, this message has been conveyed very firmly to Pakistan — that if acts of terrorism occur, there will be consequences.”
26/11 was a turning point in India-Pak relations
Jaishankar also emphasied that the 2008 Mumbai terror attack was a turning point in India’s relationship with Pakistan. He said that the attack made Indians feel that such behavior from a neighboring country could no longer be tolerated.
On 26 November 2008, ten Pakistani terrorists carried out attacks at several places in Mumbai, killing 166 people during a siege that lasted nearly 60 hours.
In a veiled dig at the Congress-led UPA government, which was in power at the time, Jaishankar said the public strongly felt that such actions from a neighbouring country could no longer be tolerated, but the government back then didn’t fully grasp that sentiment.