“India has changed. I wish I could say Pakistan has changed. They, unfortunately, in many ways, are continuing their bad habits,” said Jaishankar.
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said the 2008 Mumbai terror attack marked a turning point in relations with Pakistan. When asked about why the Indian government rarely discusses Pakistan publicly, Jaishankar reminded the audience that one should not waste their precious time on a country that is continuing with its “bad habits”.
Speaking at Charotar University of Science and Technology during an interactive session, Jaishankar acknowledged India’s transformation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the last decade, adding that Pakistan has remained unchanged.
He said that after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Indians collectively felt that such behaviour from a neighbouring country could no longer be tolerated.
When asked why the Indian government rarely discusses Pakistan publicly anymore, Jaishankar explained that there was no need to waste “precious time” on them.
“India has changed. I wish I could say Pakistan has changed. They unfortunately, in many ways, are continuing their bad habits. I would say the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack was the turning point. I think that was when the Indian public, across political parties, said this is too much,” he said.
“People felt that the country (India) cannot accept this behaviour from a neighbour. I think that feeling was very very strong in society, but it may not have been entirely understood at that time by the Government at that time, which is a different matter,” the Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat told the audience.
“During this period, we have grown economically and politically, and our standing in the world has improved. But, Pakistan continued the old playbook,” he said.