'Pak stuck in bad habits': Jaishankar on how 26/11 changed India's ties with neighbour

Anand: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said the 2008 Mumbai terror attack marked a turning point in relations with Pakistan when Indians collectively felt that such behaviour from a neighbouring country could no longer be tolerated.

Speaking at Charotar University of Science and Technology during an interactive session, Jaishankar acknowledged India's transformation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the last decade.

In contrast, Pakistan has remained unchanged, continuing with what he termed as its "bad habits." When asked why the Indian government rarely discusses Pakistan publicly anymore, Jaishankar explained that there was no need to waste "precious time" on them.

"India has changed. I wish I could say Pakistan has changed. They unfortunately, in many ways, are continuing their bad habits. I would say the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack was the turning point. I think that was when the Indian public, across political parties, said this is too much," he said, adding that "People felt that the country (India) cannot accept this behaviour from a neighbour".

On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists launched attacks at multiple locations in Mumbai, killing 166 persons in the nearly 60-hour siege.

In a veiled jibe at the Congress-led UPA government which was in power in 2008, Jaishankar said, "I think that the feeling was very very strong in society, but it may not have been entirely understood at that time by the government, which is a different matter".

The Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat further said, that after 2014, when the government changed, Pakistan was given a firm message that there will be consequences if acts of terrorism are committed, he said.

"During this period, we have grown economically and politically, and our standing in the world has improved. But, Pakistan continued the old playbook," he said.

Jaishankar said Pakistan was also trying to gain something from the conflict in Afghanistan when the US and NATO were present there.

"Pakistan was playing a double game. It was with both the Taliban and also with the other side. But, when the Americans left, the double game could not be sustained.

"Whatever benefits they were getting out of the double game that also went down. Moreover, the very terrorism industry they had promoted came back to bite them," he added.

He said while India has gone up to a higher level, the terrorism brand has stuck to them (Pakistan).

"Our brand today is technology. That is the difference. We will respond if terrorism happens, but why should I spend my precious time on them?" asked the minister.

On the 2020 India-China standoff at Galwan Valley, the minister said the prime minister was "very clear, and there was no second thought in his mind" about India's response.

"In the very first meeting, it was declared that we will respond. So the decision was made because there was a deep belief. And the system also understands that a decision has been made—now find a way. And the system finds it," he said.

On the role of technology, Jaishankar said the next ten years will be "the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Electric Vehicles, space exploration, drones, and Nanotechnology." He emphasised India being "strategically autonomous" because "even today, there are countries in the world which say, 'If you want something, you must join me.'"

The EAM asserted that India is "too big to join anybody and cannot be under somebody else's shadow." According to Jaishankar, more and more people are opting to start their businesses, and technology is opening new opportunities for them.

He welcomed this "change" saying that the "government cannot be the sole employer, or the default employer in a big economy like India.

"The bigger the economy the more options in the form of entrepreneurship, self-employment, doing multiple jobs and offering services," he added.