T means Terrorism: The Foreign Ministry on Friday hit back at the remarks of Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in which he had expressed hope for better relations with India. Along with this, the ministry has also reprimanded China. Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday expressed his desire to build better relations with New Delhi.
Speaking on trade relations with India in a press conference, he said that it takes two people to improve relations. He appealed to create an environment to improve relations with India.
In his statement, the Pakistani minister had used the English proverb – ‘It takes two to tango’ which means that one cannot clap with one hand. On this statement of Dar, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal taunted and said, "The relevant word in this is ‘T’ which means ‘terrorism’ and not ‘tango’…"
With this, the Ministry of External Affairs rejected the creation of two new counties by China in the illegally occupied Aksai Chin area and registered its protest."text-align: justify;">According to media reports, last week, China had announced the creation of two new counties in Xinjiang province bordering India. He’an County and Hekang County, forming Hotan Prefecture, cover parts of Aksai Chin, which is part of the Ladakh Union Territory that China has illegally occupied since the 1950s. p style="text-align: justify;">On this issue, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said, "We have seen the announcement regarding the establishment of two new counties in Hotan Prefecture of China. Some parts of the jurisdiction of these so-called counties fall in the Union Territory of Ladakh of India.’
Jaiswal said, ‘We have never accepted the illegal Chinese occupation of Indian territory in this area. The creation of new counties will neither affect India’s long-standing and consistent position regarding our sovereignty over the region nor legitimize China’s illegal-forcible occupation. We have lodged a serious protest with the Chinese side through diplomatic channels."
Along with this, India on Friday also expressed concern over China’s plan to build a huge dam on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said, "We have seen information released by Xinhua on 25 December 2024 regarding a hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra River) in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. We have rights over the river waters and as a lower riparian country, we have consistently expressed our views and concerns to the Chinese side through expert level and diplomatic channels regarding mega projects on the rivers in their territory."
Jaiswal said, "The latest report reiterates these concerns, emphasizing the need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries. The Chinese side has been urged to ensure that the interests of countries downstream the Brahmaputra are not harmed by activities in the upper reaches. We will continue to monitor and take necessary measures to protect our interests."