Ex-diplomat says EAM Jaishankar’s speech highlights that country which resorts to terrorism can’t be trusted

KP Fabian, former Indian diplomat, while referring to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s speech at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, said that it was a subtle speech, and was not a direct attack.

Jaishankar on Wednesday termed cross-border terrorism, extremism and separatism as the “three evils” that hinder trade trade and travel as well as people to people relations between countries.

Fabian said that Jaishankar hinted that no one could trust a country that resorted to terrorism.

“When he spoke of trade, it is something which the host country had to take note of. And then he also spoke of territorial sovereignty and also mutual trust. So he was subtly suggesting, how can one trust a state which is resorting to terrorism? So it was a very subtle, but at the same time, we should note that there was no direct attack. It was all suggestive. And I think that was a good speech,” he said.

Fabian, while referring to Jaishankar’s speech that talked of terrorism and extremism, trade and connectivity, said that it was a “comprehensive” statement.

“Well, it is a comprehensive and appropriate statement. And also, at the same time, we can see there is much subtlety about it because when he spoke of terrorism, he was referring to something which the host country had to take note of,” he said.

Fabian added that Jaishankar did not ‘visit Pakistan’, but was simply attending the SCO Summit there.

“Jaishankar is not visiting Pakistan. He is attending the SCO meeting, which happens to be in Pakistan, something which he had made very clear even before going,” he said.

Addressing the 23rd Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of Government, Jaishankar took a veiled jibe at Pakistan to state that if activities across borders are characterised by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are “hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in parallel.