‘Pakistan’s plans against Kashmir would come to naught’: S Jaishankar

Washington | Jagran News Desk: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday during his visit to the Washington DC made another remark on the Pakistan atrocities. While talking about the Kashmir issue he said, “once India triggers development in Jammu and Kashmir, all of Pakistan’s plan for the last 70 years against the state would come to naught”.

While speaking after his major foreign policy speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a top American think-tank, in Washington, he also defended the mobile network suspension in the Kashmir Valley and said that it aimed to prevent the misuse of internet and social media for radicalising anti-Indian forces in the Valley. It also was aimed to make sure that no loss of life during the advancement in the progress.

Also Read: Will bring NRC in West Bengal, throw all infiltrators out of India: Amit Shah in Kolkata

"There are reactions out there. There are vested interests built over 70 years. There is a local vested interest. There is vested interest across the border," said Jaishankar, conceding that "there would be transitional risks when one changes the status quo on anything in a very substantial way and there will be reactions", he said.

"(But), if we actually manage to get development going in Jammu and Kashmir, do understand, that everything that the Pakistanis have planned for the last 70 years comes to naught, he added as reported by PTI.

He also said that it is important for India to bring this transition in Jammu and Kashmir on the ground, and it can be only achieved when from the beginning we prevent the loss of life and then move forward.

Defending the internet restrictions further, he said that when moving towards such a big step you cannot afford to let people use the internet with bad intentions. “I'm not minimizing the challenges, but I think the intent is really to persevere and to make sure that there are enough changes on the ground so that people's thinking also changes accordingly, Jaishankar said.

Earlier in his speech, he said that Pakistan for many years was and still is comfortable with continuing cross-border terrorism while India sought solutions. Now coming back to power, this government has a clear mind and instead of working on old policies we had a decisive change and a change of direction towards de-radicalization.

Also Read: SC recalls 2018 order virtually diluting provisions of arrest under SC/ST Act

“The economic costs of the status quo were visible in the absence of entrepreneurship and the shortage of job opportunities. The social costs were even starker: in discrimination against women, in lack of protection for juveniles, in the refusal to apply affirmative action and in denial of the right to information, education, and work”, he said.

“All this added up to security costs as the resulting disaffection fed separatism and fuelled a neighbour's terrorism. At a broader level, these realities also contradicted our commitment that no region, no community and no faith would be left behind”, he added.