India's expectation from Pakistanis never very high: Jaishankar
On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described Bhutto-Zardari's remarks as "uncivilised" and said they were a "new low" even for Pakistan.
"I think my ministry has said very clearly what we think about what he (Pakistan foreign minister) said. We said what we had to say," Jaishankar said during India Today's India-Japan conclave.
When pressed further on whether he was upset over the remarks against the prime minister, Jaishankar said: "Our expectation levels with the Pakistanis are never very high."
In a strong condemnation of Bhutto-Zardari's remarks, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Friday said the Pakistan foreign minister's "frustration" would be better directed towards the masterminds of terrorist enterprises in his own country" that has made terrorism a part of their "state policy".
"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 of having 126 UN-designated terrorists and 27 UN-designated terrorist entities," Bagchi said.
The Pakistan foreign minister resorted to a personal attack on PM Modi and slammed the RSS after External Affairs Minister Jaishankar told the UN Security Council that the "contemporary epicentre of terrorism" remains very much active and called for collective action to tackle them.
Though Jaishankar did not name any countries, it was apparent that he was making a veiled reference to Pakistan.
Later, he told reporters in New York that the world sees Pakistan as the epicentre of terrorism and recalled US leader Hillary Clinton's blunt message to Islamabad in 2011 that snakes in one's backyard will eventually bite those who keep them.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Shubman Gill set to be named Cricketer of the Year at BCCI annual gala
New Delhi (PTI): India's Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is set to be named Cricketer of the Year at the BCCI's annual awards to be held here on March 15.
The 26-year-old, who was not picked in the T20 side that defended the World Cup crown last month, enjoyed a stellar run in the other two formats.
He amassed 983 runs in Tests, including a whopping 754 in the drawn away series against England in 2025, at average of over 70.
His ODI runs tally stood at 490, including 188 runs during India's title-winning Champions Trophy campaign .
Overall, Gill accumulated 1,764 runs across formats at an average of 49, dotted with seven centuries and three fifties.
Although his T20 International form was not particularly impressive, he was in tremendous form during the IPL, scoring 650 runs for Gujarat Titans at an average of 50.
Former India head coach Rahul Dravid is set to be honored with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for his monumental contribution to Indian cricket, including guiding the team to the 2024 T20 World Cup title.
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is set to be named the Best Association in domestic cricket.
