New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Wednesday said India is not keen on seeing further escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan even as she urged all countries to show zero tolerance against terrorism and extremism.
Referring to Pulwama, Swaraj said such attacks are a “grim reminder for the need for all the countries to show zero tolerance to terrorism and take decisive actions against it”.
Swaraj was speaking at the 16th Russia-India-China (RIC) Foreign Ministerial Meeting being held in Wuzhen, China Wednesday.
The foreign minister said the international community has spoken in unison to eliminate Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and other terror groups based out of Pakistan following the 14-February attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.
“Pakistan denied any knowledge of the attack and outrightly dismissed claims by Jaish-e-Mohammed,” said Swaraj.
“In the light of continuing refusal of Pakistan to acknowledge and act against terror group based on its territory and based on credible information that Jaish-e-Mohammed was planning other attacks on various parts of India, Government of India decided to take preemptive action.”
The Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted “non-military preemptive strikes” against JeM’s biggest terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan, Tuesday.
Swaraj said the target selected by the IAF was in order to avoid civilian casualties.
“This was not a military operation. No military installations were targeted. The limited objective of the preemptive strike was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of Jaish-e-Mohammed in order to preempt another terror attack in India,” she added.
“India does not wish to see further escalation of the situation. India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint.”
The last RIC Foreign Ministerial Meeting was held in New Delhi on 11 December 2017.
Issue to raise with China
Swaraj will have a bilateral meeting Wednesday with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. She is expected to raise the issue of enlisting JeM Masood Azhar as UN-recognised international terrorist.
China has thrice opposed the move at the UN Security Council’s 1267 Sanctions Committee.
Last week, the UNSC unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the Pulwama attack. China was among the permanent and non-permanent members who adopted the resolution.
After Tuesday’s strike, China asked both India and Pakistan to “exercise restraint”. (Agencies)
