Terror elimination precondition for cooperation in South Asia: S Jaishankar

New York: Elimination of terrorism in all its forms is a “precondition” for fruitful cooperation in South Asia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, in a veiled attack on Pakistan while emphasising that the relevance of the SAARC will be determined by decisive actions against the scourge.

In his statement at the informal meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Council of Ministers on the margins of the 74th session of the General Assembly here on Thursday, Jaishankar said, “Ours is really not just a story of missed opportunities but also of deliberate obstacles. Terrorism is one among them.”

Elimination of terrorism in all its forms is a precondition not only for fruitful cooperation, but also for the very survival of the region itself, Jaishankar said at the meeting.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi boycotted Jaishankar’s opening statement at the meeting to protest over Kashmir after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August. India has asserted the abrogation of Article 370 was its “internal matter”.

Jaishankar in his statement reiterated SAARC leaders’ statement in Kathmandu in 2014, where they called for “full and effective implementation of SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism, including through enacting necessary legislation at the national level to root out terrorism”

“The relevance of SAARC would be determined by these actions against terrorism and this will decide our collective journey of the future become more productive,” the minister said.