'Terror industry promoter's positions called out, countered': Jaishankar on Bilawal at SCO

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday said his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was treated accordingly as a foreign minister of an SCO member state.

“As a Foreign Minister of an SCO member state, Mr Bhutto Zardari was treated accordingly. As a promoter, justifier and spokesperson of a terrorism industry which is the mainstay of Pakistan, his positions were called out and countered including at the SCO meeting itself”, the minister said in a briefing in Panaji.

The ongoing SCO foreign ministers meet witnessed both India and Pakistan attacking each other on the issue of cross-border terrorism. Jaishankar urged the members of the group to crack down on non-state actors and terror funding.

"We must not allow anybody -- individual or State -- to hide behind non-State actors," the minister said.

"Taking our eyes off the menace would be detrimental to our security interests. We firmly believe that there can be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped in all its forms and manifestations including cross-border terrorism," Jaishankar added.

At the gathering which included Zardari and Chinese foreign minister, Jaishankar emphasised on the need to respect sovereignity and territorial integrity in the context of connectivity projects.

India has for long opposed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) since it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Zardari said that terrorism shouldn’t be weaponised for “diplomatic point scoring”. The Pakistani foreign minister described CPEC as a force multiplier for regional connectivity that can enable all countries to move towards full regional economic integration.