Terrorism should be treated as global issue, not bilateral problem, says Jaishankar 

Terrorism should be addressed as a global issue rather than a bilateral problem, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, as he highlighted the historical connection of many of the terror-related incidents globally to Pakistan.

Addressing the Indian community members in Belgium, Mr. Jaishankar apprised them of India’s counter-terrorism efforts.

Talking about Operation Sindoor, which was launched after the April 22 Pahalgam attack, Mr. Jaishankar said during his talks with Belgian counterpart Maxime Prevot, he mentioned the 2016 Brussels attack to “drive home the point that look, terrorism is not, you know, a particular country’s problem.” “Don’t look at this, because often, you know, the media, which is not always free of bias, tends to present it saying, you know, there is an India, Pakistan issue, or, you know, this is about Kashmir,” he said.

“What distinguishes this challenge is often in different countries, you know, a group does it…It is very rare to have a country which openly uses it as a state policy,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

This is something people in Europe have to understand because that is not their experience, he said.

“Terrorism happens here, but no European country, or no neighbour of a European country, does terrorism as a…declared policy of their country, and I spent some time trying to make them understand,” he said.

“The messaging that on an issue like terrorism,…don’t treat it as an issue between two countries. I don’t think this is just India’s problem. I mean, if you look, in fact, at the history of terrorism over the last 20-30 years, so many of these incidents eventually end up in Pakistan. The fingerprints, the trails, somebody from there comes down, you know, all this,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

India has faced the challenge of terrorism, he said.

“We are, of course, unbroken, but we are more than unbroken. We are very determined, and this time we wanted to send that message saying, Enough is enough,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam terror attack, with India carrying out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7.

The on-ground hostilities from the Indian and Pakistan sides that lasted for four days ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.

Mr. Jaishankar, during the address, also said that there was “much sharper” interest in Europe to build stronger ties with India.

“They realise that many of the problems of Europe have to be addressed by Europe itself, that they have to stand more on their own feet, and therefore they also need more friends. They need stronger relationships with other countries,” he said.

“You all come from different professions, different walks of life. I am sure you don’t need me to tell you what is happening here and other possibilities. But certainly, when it comes to Belgium specifically, we can see that Belgium has always been a major partner of India,” he added.

On ties between India and Belgium, Mr. Jaishankar said, “We always had a good political understanding as it was one of the earliest countries to establish diplomatic relations with India.” “Politically, things have always been smooth for us; but our effort now is not just to be satisfied with what we have, but to intensify our cooperation with different countries–particularly, I would say, the economic cooperation, the people-to-people linkages and also the well-being of the community,” he said.

Earlier, the senior minister began his Belgium visit with a meeting with his counterpart, focusing on deepening bilateral cooperation, including in trade, investment, technology, defence and security, clean energy and mobility.

During his week-long tour of Europe, Mr. Jaishankar will also hold talks with leaders of the European Union and France to boost bilateral ties and reaffirm India’s policy of zero-tolerance against terrorism.