In a major diplomatic move, India on Friday hit out at Pakistan during a meeting of Foreign Ministers at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
In a speech at the inaugural plenary of the 46th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj stressed that the anti-terror fight was not a clash among civilisations.
“If we want to save humanity, we must tell the states who provide shelter and funding to the terrorists to dismantle the infrastructure of the terrorist camps and stop providing funding and shelter to the terror organisations based in their country,” Ms. Swaraj said, hinting at Pakistan.
From the archives: India, Pakistan and the OIC
India is not a member of the OIC, but was invited to the Abu Dhabi meeting as the guest of honour.
Reflecting the comments of the Minister, T.S. Tirumurti, Secretary in-charge of Economic Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, said, “It is a historic day, which opens a new chapter in the engagement with the OIC. India has a civilisational and robust relationship with OIC countries.”
The speech by the Indian Minister was overshadowed by the current tension between India and Pakistan. As Ms. Swaraj delivered her address that touched upon the rich relations between India and various Islamic countries, a chair meant for Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi remained empty as he had cancelled the trip to Abu Dhabi.
In a strong statement, the Pakistan Foreign Minister protested the OIC’s decision to grant a “guest of honour” status to India. Mr Qureshi’s letter argued India has no “legal or moral grounds” for being present at the meeting.
Emphasises ties
Ms Swaraj named countries like Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh for the support extended for building ties with OIC. The Minister also named Afghanistan, Indonesia, Brunei, Egypt, Iran, Tunisia and the African and Central Asian members of the OIC for maintaining historic and multi-layered ties with India.
Laying out the Indian attitude to solve the terrorism problem, Ms. Swaraj said, “I would like to say that this menace could not be fought only through military, intelligence or diplomatic means.”
Ms. Swaraj said the fight against terrorism and extremism does not amount to a clash of cultures and instead described it as a fight between ideas. She presented India’s pluralism and diversity as a source of strength and said Indian Muslims are a “microcosm” of India’s larger diverse culture.
“They speak Tamil and Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi, Bangla and Bhojpuri or any of the numerous languages of India. They have diverse culinary tastes, myriad choices of traditional attire, and they maintain strong cultural and linguistic heritage of the regions they loved and have lived for generations,” she said, elaborating on India’s vast Muslim community.
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