Jaishankar says terrorism in Pakistan at ’industry level’, speaks on dual citizenship to OCI card holders | 5 points

From China and Pakistan to Arunachal Pradesh and citizenship to OCI Card — External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke on a host of issues during a question and answer round held following his lecture session on his authored book 'Why Bharat Matters'. The lecture was held at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of National University of Singapore (NUS) on Saturday.

Here's what Jaishankar said | Top 5 points

1. On plans to improve relationship with Pakistan

Jaishankar said Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism at almost an "industry level". asked, "How do you deal with a neighbour who does not hide the fact that they use terrorism as an instrument of statecraft?"

"It's not a one-off happening...but very sustained, almost at an industry level...So what we have come to conclude is that we have to find a way of addressing (the menace)," he said, adding that dodging the problem "gets us nowhere, it only invites more trouble."

He said he doesn't have a "quick instantaneous fix (to this issue)". He, however, said India will not skirt this problem anymore. "We are not going to say, 'well, that happened and let's continue our dialogue'...we have a problem and we must be honest enough to face up to that problem."

"However difficult it is...we should not give the other country a free pass, saying there's nothing they can do about it or it's a very hard problem, or there's so much else at stake that let us overlook," Jaishankar asserted.

2. On troop movements on China borders

Jaishankar linked "relationship building" with "border stabilisation". He said when China, in 2020, chose to do something on the borders was “complexly violative of agreements we had reached”. He accused China of disturbing "the foundation of equilibrium".

"We are not looking at solving the boundary issue but maintaining peace and tranquility on the border," he said. He added that "no sensible government will confirms troop movement, least of all to someone to a foreign newspaper".

"We are today trying to find a way out...," Jaishankar said.

ALSO READ: Mint Explainer: Amid row with China, India ramping up infrastructure. A look at these efforts

3. On China's claims on Arunachal Pradesh

Jaishankar dismissed China's repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh as "ludicrous" and asserted that the frontier state was a "natural part of India". China has been claiming Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet and has also named the area as ‘Zangnan’.

Responding to such claims, Jaishankar was quoted by PTI as saying, "This is not a new issue. I mean China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today."

Jaishankar emphasised that Arunachal Pradesh was a "natural part of India." He said, "So, I think we've been very clear, very consistent on this. And I think you know that is something which will be part of the boundary discussions which are taking place."

4. On India's relation with Russia and the US

Jaishankar described India’s relationship with Russia and the US as a "multi-vector" policy and said it was possible to deal with each one on a "non-exclusive" basis because of India's strong non-alliance culture.

He said, "On Russia-US, when I said multi-vector policy today, this is something which every, certainly every significant country is going to face. Which is, if you have conflicting interests, if you have different partners, if you are vested in relationships, which often appear to be at cross purposes with each other, how do you actually reconcile this?

"And the answer is clearly, to find ways by which each one of them is dealt with on a non-exclusive basis,” Jaishankar said.

5. On dual citizenship to OCI card holders

Jaishankar said, "OCI was something decided up during Atalji's time...People give us ideas…but I am not aware of any specific discussion beyond that what do we do. I think people are still mulling it over..."

(With inputs from agencies)