New Delhi: India on Tuesday asserted that the international community has increasingly recognised Pakistan as the epicentre of terrorism, particularly in light of recent attacks such as the one targeting Indian tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, addressing a media briefing, stated that several world leaders have acknowledged India’s right to defend itself and protect its citizens. “There is widespread understanding in the world that Indian tourists were the victims of terrorism in Pahalgam, and that the epicentre of terrorism lies across the border in Pakistan,” he said.
Highlighting international support, Jaiswal cited the United Nations Security Council’s April 25 statement, which called for accountability for the perpetrators, organizers, sponsors, and financiers of the Pahalgam terror attack. “Those responsible must be brought to justice,” the UN statement read.
Responding to questions about India-Pakistan “hyphenation,” Jaiswal emphasized that Pakistan’s ongoing support for terrorism has made any such comparison redundant in the eyes of the global community.
He also addressed the Indian government’s decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, following a decision by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). “The treaty was signed in a spirit of goodwill and friendship, but Pakistan has undermined those principles through decades of promoting cross-border terrorism,” Jaiswal noted. He added that the treaty will remain suspended until Pakistan takes “credible and irreversible” steps to dismantle its terror infrastructure.
Jaiswal also responded to remarks made by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who had claimed that Islamabad was forced to respond to India’s May 7 cross-border strikes in “self-defence,” referring to them as “war-like” acts.
Dismissing these claims, Jaiswal said, “A country that has nurtured terrorism on an industrial scale cannot expect to escape the consequences. The terror infrastructure targeted by India was responsible not only for Indian casualties but also for the deaths of innocents globally.”
He added, “There is now a new normal. The sooner Pakistan understands this, the better.”
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