Pakistan responsible for obstructing SAARC activities: Randhir Jaiswal

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday emphasised that everyone in South Asia is aware of the country and activities responsible for hindering the progress of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday emphasised that everyone in South Asia is aware of the country and activities responsible for hindering the progress of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Without explicitly naming the country, MEA’s spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, implied that Pakistan’s actions have been a significant obstacle to SAARC’s effectiveness, reports Indian news agency ANI.

Addressing the weekly briefing, the spokesperson said, “Everyone in South Asia is aware of which country and what activities are responsible for stymying SAARC.”

This comes after Bangladesh’s renewed push for the revival of the South Asian group initiated the discussion, the ANI report added.

Randhir Jaiswal revealed that SAARC was discussed during a meeting between External Affairs Minister (EAM) Jaishankar and Bangladesh’s Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain in Muscat.

“Regarding whether SAARC came up for discussion or not. Yes, the matter was brought up by the Bangladesh side in an External affairs meeting when EAM met with Bangladesh’s Foreign advisor in Muscat,” said Jaiswal.

The discussions were held last week on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Oman.

During the meeting, EAM Jaishankar conveyed India’s concern that Bangladesh should not normalise terrorism.

“EAM conveyed that it is important that Bangladesh should not normalise terrorism...,” added Jaiswal.

During the conference in Oman, the two sides discussed various bilateral issues of mutual concerns and interests.

Jaishankar also informed about the meeting and said that the talks were focused on the bilateral relationship between the two countries and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

“Met Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain of the Interim Government of Bangladesh. The conversation was focused on our bilateral relationship, as also on (BIMSTEC),” Jaishankar wrote on X.

Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Advisor emphasised the importance of initiating the discussion for renewal of the Ganges Water Treaty.

He also highlighted the importance of holding the meeting of the SAARC Standing Committee and requested consideration of the Government of India in this regard.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is the regional intergovernmental organisation and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Prothom Alo’s New Delhi correspondent reported that questions were also raised in today’s media briefing about some of the comments made by some of the advisors of Bangladesh’s interim government.

In response, Randhir Jaiswal said that India has been keeping a close eye on the comments. India is also aware of the impact of such remarks and their impact on its work with Bangladesh.

Jaiswal further stated that such comments are definitely not helpful.

He asked the advisors to think about the reactions of their remarks.

Recently the meeting of the directors general of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) concluded in New Delhi.

In a joint press conference on Thursday, the BGB director general said in response to a question that the allegations of minority oppression after the 5 August changeover in Bangladesh are exaggerated and a media hype.

When asked for his reaction to the BGB director general’s statement in the briefing, Randhir Jaiswal said everyone was aware of what happened to minorities in Bangladesh in the last few months. India repeatedly expressed its concerns about the security of minorities.

He further said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also raised the issue in his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington.

The US has also been informed of India’s concerns in this regard, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson added.