External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar hit out at Pakistan on Thursday, calling it an "epicentre" of terrorism, adding that the "world has not forgotten where terrorism emanates from." He was responding to a question on Pakistan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar's recent allegation that "no country had used terrorism better than India".
His remarks came at the UN Security Council stakeout after chairing a signature event held under India's presidency of the Council on Global Counterterrorism Approach: Challenges and Way Forward'.
"In terms of what they are saying, the truth is everybody, the world today, sees them as the epicentre of terrorism," he said.
"I know we've been through two and a half years of Covid and a lot of us have brain fog as a result. But I assure you the world has not forgotten where terrorism emanates from, who has their fingerprints over a lot of activities in the region and beyond the region."
"So, I would say that it's something which they should remind themselves before indulging in the kind of fantasies which they do," he added.
Jaishankar cited former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who at a joint news conference in 2011 with then Pakistan Foreign Minister Khar, said: "You can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbours."
"I read the reports on what Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said. And I was reminded, more than a decade ago, my memory serves me right. Hillary Clinton was visiting Pakistan. And Hina Rabbani Khar was a minister at that time," Jaishankar said, while responding to a question on Khar's recent statements about a dossier against India.
"Standing next to her, Hillary Clinton actually said that if you have snakes in your backyard, you can't expect them to bite only your neighbours. Eventually, they will bite the people who keep them in the backyard. But as you know, Pakistan is not great on taking good advice. You see what's happening there," he said.
"Pakistan should clean up its act and try to be a good neighbour," Jaishankar said as he underlined that the world is not stupid and is increasingly calling out countries, organisations and people who indulge in terrorism.
"You know, you're asking the wrong Minister when you say how long will we do this? Because it is the Ministers of Pakistan who will tell you how long Pakistan intends to practice terrorism," Jaishankar said.
The minister lashed out at Pakistan on Wednesday too, when he said a country which hosted al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and attacked a neighbouring Parliament does not have the credentials to sermonize."
His remarks came as a retort to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto raking up the Kashmir issue during a meeting to discuss multilateralism.
(With inputs from PTI)