Foreign minister urges India to introspect, reflect on 'domestic inadequacies'

Terms the neighbouring country's behaviour as one of an 'expansionary nation'

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi took to Twitter on Sunday to urge the Indian government to focus more on its domestic concerns instead of 'behaving like an expansionist nation'.

"It would serve PM Modi’s government and ‘neighbourhood first’ policy well to realise India’s neighbours pose far less of a problem than their own domestic inadequacies, failures and fascism," said Qureshi.

Perhaps with necessary introspection, the current Indian government would be less focussed on igniting border disputes with every neighbour, behaving like an expansionist nation, and more focused on serving the poor, downtrodden and minorities of India better. https://t.co/E90ErNcg7S

— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) June 14, 2020

He called for 'necessary introspection' by the Indian government, saying it might help it serve India's minorities and downtrodden better. The minister urged for a shift in focus away from 'igniting border disputes with every neighbour'.

Qureshi's comments come days after the Indian ministry of external affairs rejected Prime Minister Imran Khan's offer to assist India with cash disbursement among citizens in the country who were hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown.

“Pakistan would do well to recall that they have a debt problem which covers 90% of their GDP. As far as India goes, our stimulus package is as large as the GDP of Pakistan,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, in a scathing reply.

Islamabad had regretted India's response to what it called PM Imran's 'goodwill' gesture.

The recent verbal sparring between the two countries comes against the back-drop of tensions between India and China, and the prevalent contentions between India and Pakistan over the issue of Indian-occupied Kashmir.

According to a statement issued by the Indian ministry of foreign affairs earlier this month, India and China had agreed to resolve their dispute over their shared border in Ladakh region through diplomatic channels.

However, a recent tweet by a Chinese diplomat in Islamabad, linking the Ladakh standoff with India 'unilaterally changing the status quo of Kashmir', had left many flustered in New Delhi.

'Pandemic has changed the world'

Separately, presiding over a meeting of the ministry of foreign affairs in Islamabad on Sunday, Qureshi said that the coronavirus pandemic has changed the world.

The meeting was held in relation with the use of modern technology, and Qureshi observed that Pakistan would have to formulate a line of action going forward.

Meetings across the world are being held virtually through video links, he said.

He also welcomed suggestions from representatives of telecom companies who were present at the meeting.