Jaishankar slams Rahul over 'govt bought Pak, China together' remark

New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remark that the BJP-led Central government bought "Pakistan and China together", External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Wednesday that the two Asian countries have been sharing close ties since the last several decades.He also rejected Rahul Gandhi's allegation that "it is India's faulty foreign policy under the Narendra Modi-led government which made China and Pakistan join hands together against India, and convert into a front".Taking to Twitter to respond to the former Congress President's remarks, Jaishankar said: "Rahul Gandhi alleged in Lok Sabha that it is this Government which brought Pakistan and China together. Perhaps, some history lessons are in order: In 1963, Pakistan illegally handed over the Shaksgam valley to China. China built the Karakoram highway through PoK in the 1970s."Speaking in the Parliament on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi slammed the Central government. "You put our nation at risk by creating such situations that made Pakistan and China get along against India. The single biggest strategic goal of India should be to keep China and Pakistan separate... and what you have done? You have brought them together. This is a very serious threat to India. "You have made a huge strategic mistake in our foreign policy. You have taken two different fronts and converted them into one single front," the Congress leader said.Responding further, Jaishankar said: "From the 1970s, the two countries also had close nuclear collaboration. In 2013, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor started. So, ask yourself: were China and Pakistan distant then?"
--IANS nk/pgh/arm

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