New Delhi, Oct 15: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday heaped praise on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for giving “exemplary” responses to Canada for consciously providing space to anti-India elements, violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in the country.
As Hindu temples in Canada continue to be constantly vandalised by Khalistani goons and Hindu-Canadians besides Indian diplomats also being repeatedly targeted, the MEA had on Monday issued a strongly-worded statement, detailing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s continued hostility towards India which it said has long been in evidence.
After underlining that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau government’s actions endangered the safety of Indian diplomats, the MEA had announced its decision to withdraw India’s High Commissioner in Canada and other “targetted diplomats and officials”.
“I have also witnessed threats, physical threats, to people who represent India. I have been at the receiving end of some of those threats. I think it is incomprehensible that in the name of freedom of expression, you allow the photograph, whether on social media, of a head of mission with different people firing bullets at it. Our responses on all these things have been exemplary.
“I think they will realise when we start calibrating our response. I read the statement by MEA and it filled me with pride. They have called spade a spade. I have seen my colleagues in different places being attacked in Gurdwaras, etc. It is unbelievable to see what is going on and then we speak about the rule of law,” said Puri while speaking at the launch of the book ‘Inside the Terrifying World of Jaish-e-Mohammed’ written by Abhinav Pandya.
With the book examining the origins, ideology, organisational structure, financing, strategies and radicalisation methods of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and its chief Masood Azhar, Puri, a seasoned diplomat before he ventured into politics, also spoke in detail about terrorism and major terror entities.
“Prior to 9/11, whenever we spoke, or rather I spoke on behalf of my country to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London or to others, the distinct impression we got was that this was someone else’s problem. Because of our geographical location, we were at the receiving end of a country which decided to use terror as an instrument of foreign and security policy. We became used to cross-border terrorism in all its forms. But, the world still thought that was a particular problem of South Asia or some other part of the world,” he said.
The Minister also called for urgent reforms in the UN Security Council, asserting that the post-1945 global architecture was flawed as it was based on the dictum ‘to the victor belong the spoils’.
“It is the only designated agency which is allowed to authorize all means necessary, even in courts, which means corporations. And unfortunately, today, whoever wants to go to war against someone else does so without even that, they have courtesy of their friends in the Security Council. So if we do, if you get this appointment that entities are being named or proscribed as observed, I think we should be equally alarmed and influenced by the fact that you have an entirely dysfunctional Security Council, which was also reinforces the need for reform and a revised multilateral order with India occupying its rightful place as a permanent member,” opined Puri.
IANS