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India, Pakistan foreign ministers trade heated barbs on ‘terror’
Pakistani minister calls India’s Modi the ‘butcher of Gujarat’ after his counterpart accuses Pakistan of being an ‘epicentre of terrorism’.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister has called India’s Prime Minister the “butcher of Gujarat” after his counterpart accused his country of being the “epicentre of terrorism” as the nuclear-armed neighbours engage in a war of words at the United Nations, Al Jazeera reported yesterday (16).
The heated exchange between Pakistan’s Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar came after the UN Security Council adopted a statement on Thursday, warning of the increasing dangers of terrorism,
The South Asian rivals have strained political ties, especially over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which was split between the two in 1947. Since then, they have fought three wars and had several skirmishes along their tense border.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of harbouring armed fighters who launch attacks on its soil, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 175 people dead, including nine attackers.
The Mumbai attackers were allegedly members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba armed group. Indian investigators say their actions were directed over the phone by handlers in Pakistan.Talking to reporters after the UN meeting, Jaishankar called Pakistan the “epicentre of terrorism”.
“My advice is to clean up your act and try to be good neighbour,” he said.
“Hillary Clinton, during her visit to Pakistan, said that if you keep snakes in your back yard you can’t expect them to bite only your neighbours, eventually they will bite the people who keep them in the back yard,” he added.
Earlier, Jaishankar, without naming Pakistan, told the UN Security Council that “India faced the horrors of cross-border terrorism long before the world took serious note of it” and has “fought terrorism resolutely, bravely and with a zero-tolerance approach”.
When Bhutto-Zardari was asked to respond to Jaishankar’s allegation, he said the Indians continue to say “Muslim and terrorist together”, whether in Pakistan or in India.
Pakistan’s top diplomat said Jaishankar should remember that “Osama bin Laden is dead, [but] the butcher of Gujarat lives and he is the Prime Minister of India”.
India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat when religious riots, in 2002, killed nearly 2,000 people – most of them Muslims.
Modi was accused of turning a blind eye to the violence. Until his election as Prime Minister, in 2014, he was denied entry to the United States.
Bhutto-Zardari said his country had lost far more lives to terrorism and that he, himself, was a victim, referring to his mother and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated by a suicide bomber in 2007. Bhutto was the first woman elected to lead a Muslim-majority country in 1988.
“As a Muslim, as a Pakistani, as a victim of terrorism, I believe it is time that we move away from some of the Islamophobic narrative framing of this issue that took place after the awful attacks of September 11, 2001, because what we witnessed from that date up until now is that terrorism, of course, knows no religion, knows no boundaries,” Bhutto-Zardari said.
“Why would we want our own people to suffer? We absolutely do not,” he added.
Abdul Basit, research fellow at S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, told Al Jazeera the “debate on terrorism cannot be reduced to Pakistan-bashing on platforms like the UN”.
“In bringing the attention back to counterterrorism challenges, India is focusing heavily on Pakistan as the main sponsor of terrorism in South Asia, which has been one of the usual tactics by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” he said.
Qandil Abbas, professor of international relations at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, said Bhutto-Zardari’s comments “should be seen from the lens of recent differences between India and Pakistan, which emerged after India revoked … autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir”.
“Pakistan was expecting that the Indian decision will be condemned and international community will support the stance presented by Pakistan. However, it was not to be,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Additionally, despite Pakistan’s partnership with America and the Western bloc the in so-called ‘war on terror’, India continued to receive more importance,” he added.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14.
The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness the unifying power of sports, made possible through collaboration with Foundation of Goodness and IImpact Hoop Lab.
While in Sri Lanka, Howard and Ndiaye, both retired professional basketball players, will conduct a weeklong program, Hoops for Hope: Bridging Borders through Basketball. The Sports Envoys will lead basketball clinics and exhibition matches and engage in leadership sessions in Colombo and Southern Province for youth aged 14-18 from Northern, Uva, Eastern and Western Provinces, offering skills and leadership training both on and off the court. The U.S. Envoys will also share their expertise with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, national coaches, and players, furthering the development of basketball in the country. Beyond the clinics, they will collaborate with Sri Lankan schoolchildren to take part in a community service project in the Colombo area.
“We are so proud to welcome Stephen and Astou as our Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, to build on the strong people-to-people connections between the United States and Sri Lanka,” said U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung. “The lessons that will be shared by our Sports Envoys – communication, teamwork, resilience, inclusion, and conflict resolution – are essential for leadership development, community building, equality, and peace. The U.S. Sports Envoy program is a testament to our belief that sports can be a powerful tool in promoting peace and unity.”
SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman in parliament demanded to know from the government the reasons for CEB suspending the leave of all its employees until further notice from Thursday.
MP Rahuman said that the CEB has got an acting General Manager anew and the latter yesterday morning issued a circular suspending leave of all CEB employees with immediate effect until further notice.
“We demand that Minister Kanchana Wijesekera should explain this to the House. This circular was issued while this debate on the new Electricity Amendment Bill was pending. There are many who oppose this Bill. The Minister must tell parliament the reason for the urge to cancel the leave of CEB employees,” the MP said.However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena prevented Minister Wijesekera responding to the query and said that the matter raised by MP Rahuman was not relevant.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) successfully concluded the 8th Annual CIPM Symposium, which took place on 31st May 2024. Themed “Nurturing the Human Element—Redefining HRM in a Rapidly Changing World,” the symposium underscored the pivotal role of human resource management (HRM) in today’s dynamic global landscape. Since its inception in 1959, CIPM has been dedicated to advancing the HR profession through education, professional development, and advocacy, solidifying its position as Sri Lanka’s leading professional body for HRM.
Ken Vijayakumar, the President of the CIPM, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The symposium commenced with the welcome address by the Chairperson, Prof. Arosha Adikaram, followed by the Web Launch of the Symposium Proceedings and Abstract Book by the CIPM President. The event featured distinguished addresses, including a speech by Chief Guest Ken Vijayakumar, President of CIPM, and an address by Guest of Honor Shakthi Ranatunga, Chief Operating Officer of MAS Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka.
The symposium also featured an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Mario Fernando, Professor of Management and Director of the Centre for Cross Cultural Management (CCCM) at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Vote of Thanks of the inauguration session was delivered by Dr. Dillanjani Weeratunga, Symposium Co-chair.
The symposium served as a comprehensive platform for researchers to present their findings across a wide range of critical topics in HRM. These included Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development and Retention, Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility, Adapting to Technological Advancements, Mental Health and Well-being at Work, Global Workforce Challenges, Employee Empowerment, and Reskilling and Upskilling.
The plenary session was led by Prof. Wasantha Rajapakse. Certificates were awarded to the best paper presenters during the valedictory session, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Kamani Perera, Manager of Research and Development.
The annual symposium of CIPM was a truly inclusive event, attracting a diverse audience that spanned undergraduates, graduates, working professionals, research scholars and lecturers. This widespread interest highlights the symposium’s significance in the field of HRM, offering a unique opportunity for everyone to network and learn from scholarly brains.The CIPM International Research Symposium was sponsored by Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), E B Creasy & Co. PLC, and Print Xcel Company.
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