The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday dismissed statements made by Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, calling them “irresponsible assertions”. In a statement issued on Saturday, the FO said that “New Delhi was again seeking to deflect attention from its own troubling record as a neighbour that promotes terrorism and contributes to regional instability.” Although the Foreign Office did not directly reference the Indian minister’s remarks, its statement followed Indian media reports quoting Jaishankar that New Delhi has a right to defend itself against terrorism while referring to “bad neighbours”.
