NEW DELHI: A day after returning from his five-day maiden visit to Beijing, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he has communicated “clearly” to China that there cannot be any differentiation among terrorists. Parrikar was referring to Beijing’s effort to block India’s bid to have Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the UN.
“I have expressed very clearly to them that there cannot be differentiation in terrorists. All terrorists are the same and they should be dealt with the same principle, including the issue they had obstructed at the UN. They should also deal with it in the same manner,” Parrikar said on the sidelines of the naval commanders conference in New Delhi.
During his China visit, Parrikar also raised India’s concerns about the presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), besides discussing crucial matters like boundary issues and setting up of a military hotline between DGMOs (Director Generals of Military Operations) of the two countries. He underlined that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had raised the issue in a more detailed manner in her interaction with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Earlier this month, China had stopped UN sanctions committee from designating JeM chief Azhar as terrorist, maintaining that the case “did not meet the requirements” of the Security Council. He said the most important takeaways from the trip were the joint decision for continuous interaction, exchanges, more talks between the armed services of both countries to reduce chances of “unwanted, undesirable” incidents.