New York, Sep 26 Almost two months since Pakistan had chosen to embarrass India on the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Islamabad was faced with a major embarrassment on Thursday at the United Nations after its vocal foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was left dumbfounded in front of waiting journalists.
"....the spokesman will speak to you...," Mr Qureshi merely remarked after he was confronted by journalists and television crew including from India and Pakistan.
Earlier, Mr Qureshi decided to give a miss to Indian Minister Dr S Jaishankar' s speech at the SAARC Foreign Ministers meet convened every year on the sidelines of UNGA.
It is worth mentioning that it is Islamabad which has been keen to open dialogue with India but New Delhi had made it clear that while it is 'not shying away' from the same, Islamabad will have to take concrete actions against terrorists taking shelter in India's western neighbour.
Mr Qureshi, a known hardliner in Indo-Pak relations, arrived late at the SAARC's Council of Ministers meeting and came in after Dr Jaishankar had made his speech and left the venue.
Pakistani authorities led by PM Imran Khan and foreign minister Qureshi had indulged in bravado and big talk on Kashmir since August 5 when the Modi government bifurcated J&K and also abrogated Article 370.
In a rather defensive tune, Imran Khan has lately told Jehadis in his country - ''Anyone, who thinks that he will cross the border to join Kashmiris is a big enemy of them and Pakistan''.
Pakistan had failed to list a resolution by the deadline September 19 at the UN Human Rights Council against India on ‘Kashmir’ and in Bangkok, it got a setback as it has been judged to be very low in terms of taking actions against terror funding.
Pakistan government's worst fear is about being included in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist.
Initial reports said the meeting of the SAARC Foreign Ministers on Thursday was delayed for about 20 minutes at the behest of Pakistani government, and it was only at the later stage that it was made known that Mr Qureshi will be staying away from the meeting.
In a tweet, Pakistan's ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said that Mr Qureshi will not attend Indian Minister Dr Jaishankar's speech.
''FM SM Qureshi refuses to attend Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s statement at the meeting of SAARC Council of Ministers,'' the missive on the micro-blogging site said.
Mr Qureshi, a known hardliner in Indo-Pak relations, arrived late at the SAARC's Council of Ministers meeting and came in after Dr Jaishankar had made his speech and left the venue.
As Mr Qureshi arrived at the venue, he was confronted by journalists. One of the scribes was also heard asking Mr Qureshi in loud voice - ''Why Pakistan has supported Hafiz Saeed?''
The meeting between Mr Qureshi and Dr Jaishankar would have been the first face to face contact between the two foreign ministers after the Government of India abrogated Article 370.
India has said that Article 370 was a temporary provision and strictly India's own domestic matter.
Last year, the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had snubbed Pakistan at the same SAARC Ministers meet as she had immediately left the venue after her speech and did not have any exchange of words with the Pakistani minister.
The Late Minister had also told the meeting that the terrorism was the single largest threat to peace and stability in South Asia.
On September 17 this year at a press meet in New Delhi, Dr Jaishankar has said it was well known to all other members of the SAARC -- Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Maldives -- that who is promoting SAARC and who is against it.
"SAARC is a body for regional cooperation, my message on SAARC will be what you require for regional cooperation. You need trade, you need connectivity...If you are to talk about the future of SAARC, which country is today promoting SAARC and which country is today impeding SAARC?" Dr Jaishankar had said.
Nepal is the convenor of this year's SAARC ministerial meeting here on the sidelines of UNGA.
The last SAARC Summit was hosted by Nepal in November 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif had attended the same.
Although Nepal was supposed to hand over the chair to Pakistan in the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad, the meet was cancelled after India decided to stay away from it protesting the Uri terror attack that killed 19 Indian soldiers.
In what was a clear snub to Pakistan during the swearing in ceremony of his government this year on May 30, the Prime Minister had invited BIMSTEC - Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) nations, Mauritius and Kyrgyzstan for his swearing-in ceremony to emphasise the importance of neighbourhood in his government's foreign policy framework.
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand are BIMSTEC members.
Qureshi skips Jaishankar speech at SAARC meet: 'Why Pak backed Hafiz Saeed ?' asks journo
New York, Sep 26 High drama unfolded at the SAARC Foreign Ministers' meeting after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday decided to give a miss to Indian Minister S Jaishankar' s speech.
The episode is largely seen as a victory of Indian diplomacy and yet another mix of goof-up and embarrassment for the Pakistani establishment.
Initial reports said at the behest of Pakistani government, the meeting of the SAARC Foreign Ministers was delayed for about 20 minutes and it was only at the later stage, the Pakistani authorities made it known that Mr Qureshi will be staying away from the meeting.
In a tweet, Pakistan's ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said that Mr Qureshi will not attend Indian Minister Dr Jaishankar's speech.
''FM SM Qureshi refuses to attend Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s statement at the meeting of SAARC Council of Ministers,'' the missive on the micro-blogging site said.
As Mr Qureshi arrived at the venue, he was confronted by journalists. One of the scribes was also heard asking Mr Qureshi in loud voice - ''Why Pakistan has supported Hafiz Saeed?''
Mr Qureshi, a known hardliner in Indo-Pak relations, arrived late at the SAARC's Council of Ministers meeting and came in after Dr Jaishankar had made his speech and left the venue.
The meeting between Mr Qureshi and Dr Jaishankar would have been the first face to face contact between the two foreign ministers after the Government of India abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Last year, the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had snubbed Pakistan as she had immediately left the meeting venue after her remarks and did not have any exchange of words with the Pakistani minister.
The Late Minister had also told the meeting that the terrorism was the single largest threat to peace and stability in South Asia.
On September 17 this year at a press meet in New Delhi, Dr Jaishankar has said it was well known to all other members of the SAARC -- Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Maldives -- that who is promoting SAARC and who is against it.
"SAARC is a body for regional cooperation, my message on SAARC will be what you require for regional cooperation. You need trade, you need connectivity...If you are to talk about the future of SAARC, which country is today promoting SAARC and which country is today impeding SAARC?" Dr Jaishankar had said.
Nepal is the convenor of this year's SAARC ministerial meeting here on the sidelines of UNGA.
The last SAARC Summit was hosted by Nepal in November 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif had attended the same.
Although Nepal was supposed to hand over the chair to Pakistan in the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad, the meet was canceled after India decided to stay away from it protesting the Uri terror attack that killed 19 Indian soldiers.
SAARC Foreign Ministers' Meet: Will Dr Jaishankar emulate Late Sushma Swaraj
New York, Sep 26 (UNI) Will Dr S Jaishankar, a text book diplomat-turned-External Affairs Minister, follow the footsteps of his illustrious predecessor Late Sushma Swaraj during the SAARC Foreign Ministers' meeting here later in the day?
"We will see when that happens....." - Dr Jaishankar had remarked on September 17 in Delhi when asked at a press conference on how would he interact or give any message to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi when they meet on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly.
Dr Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Mr Qureshi will be face to face for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and in recent past both India and Pakistan have been targeting each other either on the issue of terror or alleged restrictions and human rights violation in Jammu and Kashmir.
During last year's SAARC foreign ministers meeting on the sidelines of UNGA, Late Sushma Swaraj had immediately left after her remarks and did not have any exchange the Pakistani minister.
She had also told the meeting that the terrorism was the single largest threat to peace and stability in South Asia.
On September 17 at the press meet in Delhi, Dr Jaishankar also has said - "SAARC is a body for regional cooperation, my message on SAARC will be what you require for regional cooperation. You need trade, you need connectivity...If you are to talk about the future of SAARC, which country is today promoting SAARC and which country is today impeding SAARC?"
Dr Jaishankar also has said - "That's an issue all SAARC nations need to reflect upon and I am pretty confident every other SAARC nation knows what the answer is".
Dr Jaishankar also asserted that Article 370 is not a bilateral issue but strictly an internal issue of India.
In last few days during his stay in the US, Dr Jaishankar has called Pakistan - 'terroristan' and wrote in an article that - "A provision (Article 370) intended to provide temporary comfort to the process of aligning with the rest of the nation was misused for many years. By doing so, it encouraged links between separatist politicians and terrorist groups sponsored by Pakistan".
Global issues may dominate Modi's speech at UNGA apart from Pak-sponsored terror
New York, Sep 26 (UNI) The much-awaited speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) may focus on establishing India's aspiration at the global level apart from talking tough on Kashmir and terrorism emanating from western neighbour Pakistan, says a known India watcher.
''India's ambitions internationally is greater than the issue of Pakistan,'' opined Alyssa Ayres, senior Fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations on a TV channel here.
She said that Mr Modi is expected to make a strong pitch on terrorism vis-a-vis Pakistan's role and climate change, adding that the Prime Minister may speak about abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir as well.
Apart from Kashmir, Ms Ayres says that Prime Minister Modi's address may cover a wide range of India's other ambitions including maritime and space.
''Space has been an important issue for India certainly in the past couple of decades that are important to India globally,'' she said.
Undoubtedly the Kashmir issue will come up, she said, adding ''Any Indian leader will feel obligated to give a reply given the importance Pakistan has given to it. But I do think India's international ambitions are much larger than the very tough issue of Pakistan.''
Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday told global business honchos and industry captains that he will "personally act as a bridge" to resolve bottlenecks and other hindrances for foreign companies to make investment in India.
In his Houston address during 'Howdy Modi' show, Prime Minister said back home everything is fine.
Sharing stage with US President Donald Trump and a host of American lawmakers including from Republican and Democratic parties, Mr Modi has said back home everything is fine.
Prime Minister asserted that everything is okay in the country and repeated the phrase in number of Indian languages including Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, Bangla and Hindi.
''We are changing ourselves and challenging ourselves....We are aiming high and achieving higher''.
In order to showcase India as an attractive destination for doing business in front of global world leaders, Prime Minister held a Round Table meet and also held separate meetings with some top business honchos.
Mr Modi has made a strong pitch for investment in India, and invited global business leaders to make India their new and sole destination.
He has been highlighting problems on water and climate change on global fora and Modi pitched for a global electricity grid.
The Prime Minister also initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), an alliance of 121 countries, to work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Setting the tone of Prime Minister's UNGA speech, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has on Wednesday said "there are deep vested interests" which are resisting the change in Jammu and Kashmir enforced by the Modi government since August 5.
Dr Jaishankar has also virtually backed the concept of not playing cricket with the western neighbour and said with 'terrorism and suicide bombing' dominating it is hard to sell any other narrative.
ends Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday told global business honchos and industry captains that he will "personally act as a bridge" to resolve bottlenecks and other hindrances for foreign companies to make investment in India.
In his Houston address during 'Howdy Modi' show, Prime Minister said back home everything is fine.
Sharing stage with US President Donald Trump and a host of American lawmakers including from Republican and Democratic parties, Mr Modi has said back home everything is fine.
Prime Minister asserted that everything is okay in the country and repeated the phrase in number of Indian languages including Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, Bangla and Hindi.
''We are changing ourselves and challenging ourselves....We are aiming high and achieving higher''.
In order to showcase India as an attractive destination for doing business in front of global world leaders, Prime Minister held a Round Table meet and also held separate meetings with some top business honchos.
Mr Modi has made a strong pitch for investment in India, and invited global business leaders to make India their new and sole destination.
He has been highlighting problems on water and climate change on global fora and Modi pitched for a global electricity grid.
The Prime Minister also initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), an alliance of 121 countries, to work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Setting the tone of Prime Minister's UNGA speech, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has on Wednesday said "there are deep vested interests" which are resisting the change in Jammu and Kashmir enforced by the Modi government since August 5.
Dr Jaishankar has also virtually backed the concept of not playing cricket with the western neighbour and said with 'terrorism and suicide bombing' dominating it is hard to sell any other narrative.
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