NEW DELHI: Union defence minister
Rajnath Singh
has said that India would
cooperate
with
Pakistan
to eliminate terrorism from its land if Islamabad ‘feels it is incapable’ of stopping it.
Adding to the offer, the defence minister warned Pakistan against using terrorism to
destabilise
India as it would have to face dire
consequences
.
“If Pakistan is trying to destabilise India with the help of terrorism, then it will have to face the consequences.
Pakistan needs to control terrorism. If Pakistan thinks that it is not capable of controlling it, then it can take help from India. India is ready to help Pakistan stop terrorism,” said Rajnath Singh in an ANI podcast.
“They are our
neighbours
, and if their intentions are clear that terrorism should stop, then they should do that themselves; otherwise, they can take help from India and we both can end terrorism. But this is their call, I am just giving them advice,” the defence minister said.
A few days ago, Rajnath Singh caused a sensation when he refrained from scotching a report in a foreign daily alleging that Indian agencies used hired guns to eliminate 20 Pakistan-based terrorists who were on India’s ‘most wanted’ list for killings and other acts of violence.
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Later, Pakistan reacted sharply to Rajnath Singh’s comments, calling it “provocative remarks”.
“India’s assertion of its preparedness to extra-judiciously execute more civilians, arbitrarily pronounced as ‘terrorists’, inside Pakistan constitutes a clear admission of culpability,” the Pakistan foreign office said.
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However, India’s ministry of external affairs has denied allegations that New Delhi carried out targeted assassinations in Pakistan, and called them “false and malicious propaganda”.
The ministry also underlined a previous statement by foreign minister S Jaishankar in which he said that targeted killings in other countries were “not the policy of govt of India”.
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India-Pakistan bilateral relationship descended to its lowest after the 2019 Pulwama attack followed by India’s retaliatory Balakot airstrikes at terror bases in Pakistan.
The ties virtually ceased later that year after India abrogated Article 370, stripping the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two Union territories.
(With ANI inputs)
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