S Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs, says terror anywhere has global implications. (File)
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar today took an IT-versus-IT swipe at "a neighbouring country" in apparent reference to Pakistan. He called it "an expert in international terrorism", while India "is an expert in information technology".
"Now the world's understanding of terrorism is better as compared to earlier times," he said, in his speech in Hindi at a function in Gujarat's Vadodara. "The world isn't tolerating it anymore. Countries using terrorism are under pressure."
He added, "It (terrorism against India) has been going on for years, but we have lately been more successful explaining to the world that it has a global impact — that if today it is us, tomorrow it will be you."
Mr Jaishankar recently returned after attending UN meetings and other events in the US, where he raised questions over the US-Pakistan relationship. "It's neither ended up serving Pakistan well nor serving the American interests," he said at an event organised by the Indian American community in Washington.
He was responding to questions by the audience on the decision of the Joe Biden administration to provide a "sustenance package" for Pakistan's F-16 fighter jets bought from the US.
"For someone to say 'I am doing this because it is all counter-terrorism content'... and so when you are talking of an aircraft like F-16.... everybody knows, you know, where they are deployed and their use. You are not fooling anybody by saying these things," Mr Jaishankar said.
The previous Donald Trump administration had blocked the $450 million programme for maintenance of the F-16s, which Pakistan bought decades ago.
The US has since denied that the US-Pakistan defence cooperation was a message to India for its neutrality on Russia in the Ukraine invasion.