External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that India cannot accept terrorism or it cannot accept that in any way legitimate as diplomacy or as any other aspect of statecraft. He termed the recent agreement on a ceasefire between the forces of India and Pakistan as a "good step". But pointed out that there there are "obviously bigger issues" between the two countries.
Jaishankar made these remarks during a conversation with former US National Security Advisor General HR McMaster in the 'Battlegrounds' session on 'India: Opportunities And Challenges For A Strategic Partnership' presented by the Hoover Institution.
Responding to a question on Pakistan, Jaishankar said, "Look what I can tell you at this point of time, is that we had an agreement some weeks ago between our Director General of Military Operations that we would not fire across at each other, across the Line of Control, which has seen a lot of that. And it's seen a lot of that, mainly because there's been infiltration from their side."
"So, the basis for not firing is very clear because the reason for firing is infiltration. So if there is no infiltration there's obviously no reason to fire. That a good step," he added.
At the same time, India has again supported General Secretary Antonio Guterres' candidacy for a second five-year term from January 2022 as the head of the United Nations. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar met Guterres here on Tuesday and discussed a number of important issues during his warm-hearted meeting with him, including the challenge posed by Coronavirus, climate-related issues, regional challenges and India's priorities included during the chairmanship of the United Nations in August.
