The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Thursday said India expects Turkey to exhort Pakistan to end its support of cross-border terrorism and take firm action against the “terror ecosystem it has harboured for decades.”
“We expect Turkey to strongly urge Pakistan to end its support to cross-border terrorism and take credible and verifiable actions against the terror ecosystem it has harboured for decades. Relations are built on the basis of sensitivities to each other’s concerns,” Jaiswal said.
He added, “Celebi matter has been discussed with the Turkish Embassy here. But I understand that this particular decision was taken by the Civil Aviation Security.”
VIDEO | “We expect Türkiye to strongly urge Pakistan to end its support to cross-border terrorism, take credible and verifiable action against the terror ecosystem it has harboured for decades now,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal () earlier today.
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The MEA reiterated that any bilateral discussion between India and Pakistan on and Kashmir will only be on the illegally occupied Indian territory being vacated by Pakistan.
“I would like to remind you that talk and terror don’t go together. On terrorism itself I had said earlier, we are open to discussing the handling of noted terrorists to India whose list was given to Pakistan some years ago. I would like to underline that any bilateral discussion on Jammu and Kashmir will only be on the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at its weekly press briefing.
Jaiswal added that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) “will remain in ‘abeyance’ until Pakistan credibly abjures its support for terrorism.”
The third of seven multi-party delegations, formed to rally global support for India’s war against terror emanating from Pakistan and moving to isolate Islamabad internationally, left for Russia this morning. The delegation is scheduled to visit Slovenia, Greece, Latvia, and Spain as part of its mission.
“Seven all-party delegations have either already departed or will be departing soon. Of these, three have already left — one departed this morning for Russia, and they will also visit other countries such as Slovenia, Greece, Latvia, and Spain,” Jaiswal said.
Two all-party delegations left Wednesday, with Japan and the United Arab Emirates being the first stops in the programme.
Jaiswal added, “The remaining four groups are to travel shortly, with three leaving on May 24 and one set to visit the United States. The central idea behind this political mission is to convey our resolve to the world about our strong outrage against terrorism. We want the world to unite in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We want the world to hold accountable those responsible for cross-border terrorism, particularly Pakistan, which has been practicing against India for the past 40 years.”
On External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar’s phone call with his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi, Jaiswal said, “As far as the External Affairs Minister’s conversation with acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan is concerned, we had put out a release on ‘X’. The External Affairs Minister thanked the acting Foreign Minister for his very strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack. Also, they agreed to advance bilateral cooperation in several areas.”
India on Wednesday rejected allegations by Pakistan about India’s involvement in the Balochistan suicide bombing in which at least five people were killed, saying it is to “divert attention from Pakistan’s reputation as the global epicentre of terrorism”.
The MEA spokesperson said, “India rejects the baseless allegations made by Pakistan regarding Indian involvement with the incident in Khuzdar earlier today. India condoles the loss of lives in all such incidents.”
