Bilawal Bhutto's 'Gujarat's butcher' remark on PM Modi triggers outburst
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's recent "butcher of Gujarat" dig on Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn't gone well in India and has ignited an outburst amongst many. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers staged a huge protest on Friday near the Pakistan embassy in Delhi over Zardari's comments and demanded an immediate apology from the minister.
Why does this story matter?
- Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's response came at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) after the Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that the country has no authority to "sermonize" on the Kashmir issue as it sheltered Al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden.
- A day before this, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan had raised the Kashmir issue at the UN body.
Protest outside Pak Embassy
BJP workers turned up in numbers with placards and began giving slogans of "Bilawal Bhutto maafi maango" and "Pakistan hay hay!" As a precaution, the Delhi Police set up barricades to prevent the protesters from marching toward the Pakistan Embassy. As per reports, the protesters still broke through the first sets of barricades and kept marching toward the embassy.
Visuals from the protest
BJP workers protest against Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari over his statement on PM Narendra Modi outside Pakistan High Commission in Delhi pic.twitter.com/WLTtHW9l9L
— ANI (@ANI) December 16, 2022
Zardari's comment that triggered the outburst
Earlier, Zardari said: "I will like to remind the honorable minister of external affairs of India that Osama Bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of India lives. And he is the prime minister of India. He was banned from entering this country until he became the Prime Minister. This is the Prime Minister of the RSS and the Foreign Minister of the RSS."
India responds to Pak Foreign Minister's remark
India has responded to Pak Foreign Minister's remarks on PM Modi and called it "uncivilized." "These comments are a new low, even for Pakistan. Pak's Foreign Min has obviously forgotten this day in 1971, which was a direct result of the genocide unleashed by Pakistani rulers against ethnic Bengalis & Hindus," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official release.
Pakistan needs to change its own mindset: MEA
"Pakistan is a country that glorifies Osama bin Laden as a martyr, and shelters terrorists like Lakhvi, Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, Sajid Mir and Dawood Ibrahim. No other country can boast having 126 UN-designated terrorists and 27 UN-designated terrorist entities," MEA stated. "Pakistan needs to change its own mindset or remain a pariah," it further added.
Jaishankar points out double standards in dealing with terrorism
While chairing India's signature event at United Nations (UN) counter-terrorism meeting, Jaishankar said Pakistan's old traditions and embedded terror networks are still active in South Asia. In an attack on China, the minister said that double standards in fighting terrorism and stated compromises on the problems were unaffordable. He also stated that evidence-based proposals to ban terrorists were put on hold without appropriate reason.
You're asking the wrong minister: Jaishankar
At a media interaction on Thursday, a journalist questioned: "How long the South Asia is going to see this terrorism disseminating from New Delhi, Kabul, and, you know, Pakistan?" "You're asking the wrong minister when you say 'how long will we do this'," Jaishankar responded.
