“Just as pandavas could not choose their relatives…”: S Jaishankar On Pak

Pune:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that just as the Pandavas cannot choose their relatives, India cannot choose its geographical neighbours.

“It is a reality for us… The Pandavas could not choose their parents, we cannot choose our neighbours. happens to be nuclear energy, will be an asset or a liability.”

S Jaishankar was in Pune for the release of his English book “The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World”, which has been translated into Marathi as “Bharat Marg”.

The Marathi version of S Jaishankar’s book was published by Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis.

Asked about the economic situation in Pakistan, S Jaishankar said he could not comment on what was happening in Pakistan.

The World Bank has cut Pakistan’s economic growth in half – from 4% to 2% for the current financial year, saying Islamabad faces growing economic difficulties, The News International reported.

“Nevertheless, Pakistan faces growing economic difficulties and Sri Lanka remains in crisis. Across all regions, improvements in living standards over the half-decade to 2024 are expected to be slower than between 2010 and 2019,” reads the World Bank in Global Economic Prospects. report.

Pakistan’s economic situation is precarious with low foreign exchange reserves and large fiscal and current account deficits which have been further aggravated by severe flooding.

Around a third of the country’s land area was affected, damaging infrastructure and directly affecting around 15% of the population, The News International reported.

Moreover, with low foreign exchange reserves and growing sovereign risk, Pakistan saw its currency depreciate by 14% between June and December and its country risk premium increased by 15 percentage points over the same period.

In the midst of this, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has agreed to meet all International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions for the speedy resumption of the upcoming review.

Shehbaz Sharif said on January 24 that Pakistan’s ruling PDM alliance was ready to sacrifice its “political career for the good of the country” by accepting “strict” IMF conditions to restart the loan program.

Reports reveal that more than 9,000 containers are stuck in different Pakistani seaports, threatening to disrupt supply chains of essential goods. Inflation in the country has reached almost 30%. The country’s funds are running out and food prices are rising.

Islam Khabar says importers are unable to clear containers due to lack of dollars, while shipping companies threaten to suspend Pakistan’s operations due to country’s inability to make timely payments desired. This will have a negative impact on imports and exports.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has only $4.4 billion in foreign exchange reserves, barely enough for three weeks of imports, while estimated needs to clear containers and pending applications for additional letters of credit are in the order of $1.5 billion. $2 billion, according to the Islam Khabar report.

Businesses in Pakistan are at risk of closing due to a breakdown in supply chains, as products produced in the country rely on imported raw materials. The textile industry in Pakistan is also in a critical position as it loses credibility and market share with international buyers.

The country’s hospitals are short of medicines and there could soon be shortages of commodities such as wheat, fertilizer and gasoline.

Prime Minister Sharif has thus asked the people to conserve resources such as water, gas and electricity to help the government reduce its import bill, which has increased considerably in recent years.

S Jaishankar also said that the Indus Waters Treaty is a technical matter and further action will depend on the talks between the Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan.

“This is a technical matter, the Indus Commissioners of both countries will talk about the Indus Water Treaty. We can only discuss our next steps after that,” he said. he declares.

India has issued notice to Pakistan for the amendment of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of September 1960 after Islamabad’s actions undermined the provisions of the treaty.

The notice was given on January 25 through the respective Indus Water Commissioners, pursuant to Article XII(3) of the IWT.

The purpose of the Notice of Variation is to provide Pakistan with an opportunity to engage in intergovernmental negotiations within 90 days to remedy the material breach of the CIES. This process would also update the IWT to incorporate lessons learned over the past 62 years.

India has always been a responsible partner in the implementation of IWT. However, Pakistan’s actions have encroached on the provisions of the CIES and their implementation and forced India to issue a proper notice of modification of the CIES.

Highlighting the sea change in India’s foreign policy, S Jaishankar said the country’s influence has extended beyond the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Speaking at the release ceremony of the book ‘Bharat Marg’ written by S Jaishankar, he said: “Nowadays India’s influence has spread beyond the Indian Ocean to to the Pacific Ocean, that’s why I talk about history, great countries always think only of themselves, it’s a deficiency in their DNA.”

(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)