EAM S Jaishankar
NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday spoke about India’s neighbourhood policy, saying that “you can have bad neighbours… unfortunately, we do” a veiled swipe at Pakistan.Ties between New Delhi and Islamabad, long strained, further deteriorated after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, an attack was designed and backed by Pakistan.Addressing students at IIT Madras, Jaishankar said, “You can also have bad neighbours. Unfortunately, we do. When you have bad neighbours, if you look to the one to the west. If a country decides that it will deliberately, persistently, and unrepentantly continue with terrorism, we have a right to defend our people against terrorism. We will exercise that right.”
He also reiterated India’s stand with his tone appearing dismissive of US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims on mediating peace between India and Pakistan during high-scale military tensions in May. Emphasising strategic autonomy, Jaishankar said, “How we exercise that right is up to us. Nobody can tell us what we should or should not do. We will do whatever we have to do to defend ourselves.” Referring to the now suspended, Indus Waters Treaty pact between the two countries, he added that goodwill cannot coexist with continued hostility. “Many years ago, we agreed to a water sharing arrangement, but if you had decades of terrorism, there is no good neighbourliness. If there is no good neighbourliness, you don’t get the benefits of that good neighbourliness. You can’t say, ‘Please share water with me, but I will continue terrorism with you.’ That’s not reconcilable…”