"Must Be Done Without Gun Pointed At Us": S Jaishankar On Talks With Pak

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said today that said India is open to talks with Pakistan about terrorism, provided that it is done in a "civilised" manner without "having the gun pointed at my head."

In Singapore, S Jaishankar spoke at the Mint Asia Leadership Summit, attended by around 400 delegates.

His comments came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after New Delhi revoked the special status to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5.

He said that if there are issues that need to be talked about, it is between India and Pakistan.

"But it must be done without having the gun pointed at my head," he said, referring to the cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Highlighting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's acknowledgement of the presence of 40 different terror groups in the country, S Jaishankar said, "we are open to talking about it provided that you talk like two civilised neighbours. But you don't say I talk to you, but I reserve the right to come at night and blow you cities," he added.

At the summit, S Jaishankar also spoke about the trade issues between India and US, saying he was not disturbed by them. 

"The reality is that if you trade with a country, you are going to have trade issues. The question is how to manage these issues. I really think most of them are resolvable," he said.

"Frankly I am quite confident that we will be able work our way through these," he said.

US President Donald Trump in June ended the preferential trade status granted to India, asserting that New Delhi has failed to assure America of "equitable and reasonable" access to its markets.