India Snubs Pak, Slams Bid To Raise Bilateral Issues In Shanghai Grouping
NDTV
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar asserted that any serious connectivity initiative must be transparent
In a veiled criticism of Pakistan, India today said that repeated attempts to deliberately bring bilateral issues into the SCO platform violate the well-established principles of the grouping and such counter-productive acts should be "condemned".
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, in a virtual address at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, also asserted that any serious connectivity initiative must be transparent and conform to the most basic principle of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The comments are seen as an indirect reference to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). India has been severely critical of the BRI as the USD 50 billion corridor passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
"India considers the SCO as an important regional group to promote cooperation in various fields based on universally recognised international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness, transparency and equality," Dr Jaishankar said.
