'...wake up and smell the coffee': says S Jaishankar on abrogation of Article 370 during SCO Summit

Union External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on 5 April said that Article 370 is history now and the sooner people realise it, the better it is for them.

Addressing a press conference in Goa post the SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting, he said, "...wake up and smell the coffee. 370 is history. The sooner people realise it, the better it is." He was answering a question asked on the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir.

Jaishankar made it clear that Pakistan) have nothing to do with G20 and nothing to do with Srinagar. "There is only one issue to discuss on Kashmir which is when does Pakistan vacate its illegal occupation of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir," says EAM Dr S Jaishankar.

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On the issue of bilateral talks with Pakistan, Jaishankar ruled out the option till Pakistan addresses India's concerns on cross-border terrorism. He said, "Victims of terrorism do not sit together with perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism."

"Victims of terrorism defend themselves, counter acts of terrorism, they call it out, they legitimise it and that is exactly what is happening. To come here and preach these hypocritical words as though we are on the same boat," he said on a question on India-Pakistan ties.

On being asked about how his Pakistani counterpart was treated India, the Minister said, "As a Foreign Minister of an SCO member state, Mr Bhutto Zardari was treated accordingly. As a promoter, justifier and spokesperson of a terrorism industry which is the mainstay of Pakistan, his positions were called out and countered including at the SCO meeting itself."

"He came here as the Foreign Minister of an SCO Member State. That is part of multilateral diplomacy. Don't see it as anything more than that. I think that nothing from what he said or what I heard he said deserves for this to be treated more than that," Jaishankar added.

Earlier in the day, S Jaishankar expressed concern at terrorism including cross-border terrorism. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrived in Goa on Thursday, the first such visit by a Pakistani foreign minister to India in nearly 12 years.

With agency inputs.