Sushma Swaraj walked out before Qureshi’s speech: Pakistan ignored
The United Nations General Assembly was the place where Indian foreign minister, Shushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart, Shah M Qureshi came face to face for the first time since the new government took over Islamabad. This was also where Sushma Swaraj walked out before Qureshi’s speech.
At the meeting, Swaraj called for efforts to eliminate the scourge of terrorism in all its forms, without discrimination. She also expressed her wishes for the destruction of the “ecosystem of its support.” In the presence of Qureshi, Swaraj said that progress in the region wasn’t possible without an environment of peace.
She said, “An environment of peace and security is essential for regional corporation to progress and achieve economic development and prosperity. The number of threats and incidents that endanger south Asia is on the rise. Terrorism remains the single-largest threat to peace and stability in our region, and indeed in the world.”
Indian diplomatic sources defended Swaraj. They implied that it was quite normal in a multilateral meeting to leave early after one had delivered the country’s statement. They also stated that Swaraj was not the first minister to leave the meeting. Just like Sushma Swaraj walked out before Qureshi’s speech, her Afghanistani and Bangladeshi counterparts had also left before her.
Qureshi on the other hand was eager to pick up this incident as a fault on the part of India. He said that this incident was reflective of the attitude of the country. He said, “They want to move on. I can’t speak for them, but I can deduce from their body language the disappointment because if you do not move and if you do not sit and convene meetings, how do you move on?”
It is true that India has recently avoided a meeting with Pakistan PM Imran Khan. But that was due to the sensitive issue of terrorism. Moreover, Pakistan has other elements in power other than its government. Sushma Swaraj walked out before Qureshi’s speech. Perhaps it was normal behaviour and Pakistan is over-reacting. Or perhaps it was truly an indication of India’s intention to non-cooperate with Pakistan. What do you think?
