DID Press: Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar referred to Pakistan as a “terrorist country” during a press interaction at the United Nations headquarters in New York after a Pakistani journalist questioned India over alleged support for terrorism in Pakistan.
The exchange took place on Friday, September 25, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, during a press briefing involving Jaishankar and Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti on the Group of Friends for Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers.
The Pakistani journalist asked Jaishankar when the Indian government would stop what he described as sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan. Jaishankar responded: “A terrorist country is asking me that question. Come on.”
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Harish Parvathaneni, then told the journalist that he had heard the minister’s response “loud and clear.”
The exchange comes amid longstanding mutual accusations between India and Pakistan over cross-border terrorism. The characterization of Pakistan as a “terrorist country” in this incident was Jaishankar’s statement, rather than a finding by the United Nations.