Why Osama felt safe in Pak? Jaishankar's terrorism will haunt you warning to West

India Today

a day ago

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar urged the global community to understand that the recent confrontation between India and Pakistan was not just a conflict between two neighbours, but it was about combating terrorism, which, he said, will eventually come back to haunt the West.In an interview with European news site Euractive, Jaishankar addressed the global response to the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives, pushing back against narratives that reduce such events to regional tensions.advertisement"Let me remind you of something – there was a man named Osama bin Laden. Why did he, of all people, feel safe living for years in a Pakistani military town, right next to their equivalent of West Point?," he said.
"I want the world to understand - this isn't merely an India-Pakistan issue. It's about terrorism. And that very same terrorism will eventually come back to haunt you," Jaishankar, who is travelling to Europe a month after India launched Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam attack, told Euractiv.During his meeting with Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas in Brussels, he also made a strong pitch for India as a reliable and values-aligned economic partner, especially in light of ongoing EU-India free trade negotiations.advertisementHe underscored India's global positioning, strategic value, and conveyed New Delhi's concerns over certain European Union policies, according to European news site Euractiv."India, a nation of 1.4 billion, offers skilled labour and a more trustworthy economic partnership than China," Jaishankar said in an interview Euractiv.On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the minister reaffirmed India's non-prescriptive stance."We don't believe that differences can be resolved through war... It's not for us to prescribe what that solution should be," Jaishankar said, emphasising that India is "not being prescriptive or judgemental – but we are also not uninvolved."Responding to criticism over India's position on sanctions against Russia, Jaishankar defended New Delhi's approach. "We have a strong relationship with Ukraine as well – it's not only about Russia. But every country, naturally, considers its own experience, history and interests."Jaishankar also offered a historical critique of Western foreign policy toward India. Citing the events following India's independence, he recalled, "Our borders were violated just months after independence... and the countries that were most supportive of that? Western countries." He questioned the moral positioning of those who were "evasive or reticent then" but now promote international principles.Reinforcing India's support for a multipolar global order, he said, "Multipolarity is already here... Europe now faces the need to make more decisions in its own interest." He added that terms like "strategic autonomy," now popular in Europe, were once part of India's own diplomatic vocabulary.advertisementJaishankar also made it clear that India opposes aspects of the EU's climate policy, particularly the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)."Let's not pretend – we're opposed to parts of it. The idea that one part of the world will set standards for everybody else is something which we are against," he said.When asked whether he trusts former US President Donald Trump and the possibility of deepening ties with a future Trump administration, Jaishankar said, "I take the world as I find it. Our aim is to advance every relationship that serves our interests – and the US relationship is of immense importance to us. It's not about personality X or president Y."Speaking on China, Jaishankar pointed to growing caution among European companies regarding Chinese supply chains. "Many companies are becoming increasingly careful about where they locate their data – they'd rather place it somewhere secure and trustworthy," he noted, implicitly framing India as a safer alternative.With ANI inputsMust Watch