Washington: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that India has every right to defend its people against terrorism and the country will exercise that right. He said this ahead ahead of Quad foreign ministerial meeting in Washington DC.
He further added that the victims and perpetrators of terrorism must never be equated and India has every right to defend its people against terror strikes.
With his counterparts from the US, Australia and Japan listening, Jaishankar added that India expects its Quad partners to understand and appreciate its position on dealing with terrorism.
Jaishankar says world must display zero tolerance towards terrorism
Jaishankar made the remarks to the media ahead of a crucial meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad grouping hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“The world must display zero tolerance (towards terrorism). Victims and perpetrators must never be equated and India has every right to defend its people against terrorism,” Jaishankar said.
“And we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that,” he said.
He also underlined the need to ensure freedom of choice for countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
“It is essential that nations of the Indo-Pacific have the freedom of choice so essential to make right decisions on development and security,” he said.
