'If I have a good guest, I am a good host': S Jaishankar on Pak's Bilawal Bhutto

Days after calling Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto a "spokesperson of a terrorism industry", External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Sunday indicated that he is a "good host" for "good guests."

Speaking at an event in Mysuru, the EAM said that the Pakistan Foreign Minister has not spoken about any issue other than Kashmir, the BBC documentary and the G20, Hindustan Times reported.

"But if you look at his public utterances outside the SCO meet, he has only spoken on India, -- G20, Kashmir, BBC documentary; but nothing about SCO. What do I do as a host? If I have a good guest, I am a good host," the website quoted S Jaishankar as saying while responding to a question.

Bilawal Bhutto was in India recently to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting which was held in Goa.

Explaining the government's intent on inviting the Pakistan minister to the SCO meet, he said, "We invited the Pakistani foreign minister because there was an SCO foreign ministers' meeting. When it comes to multilateral meetings, you invite people to discuss that subject. He (Bilawal Bhutto) was invited in his capacity as a representative of Pakistan to put across his views on matters pertaining to the issues pertaining to SCO. We could differ...he may have his viewpoint, I may have my own viewpoint and there's an SCO meeting room where we would discuss and differ. That's one thing,"

After a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) witnessed a face-off between the two countries on Friday, S Jaishankar accused his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of being a "promoter, justifier and a spokesperson of a terror industry". His response came after Bhutto Zardari in his address at the SCO meeting contended that terrorism shouldn't be "weaponised for diplomatic point-scoring".

"As a foreign minister of an SCO member state, Bhutto Zardari was treated accordingly. As a promoter, justifier and a spokesperson of a terrorism industry, which is the mainstay of Pakistan, his positions were called out and they were countered including at the SCO meeting itself," Jaishankar stated.

On Pakistan's response to terrorism, the EAM said the country's credibility is depleting even faster than its forex reserves. "Victims of terrorism do not sit together with the perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism," Jaishankar said when asked about the possibility of India and Pakistan working towards combating the menace. Victims of terrorism defend themselves to counter acts of terrorism. They call it out, they delegitimise it. And that is what is happening. To come here and preach these hypocritical words as though we are on the same boat. I mean they are committing acts of terrorism."

With inputs from PTI