Snakes In Your Backyard Will Eventually Bite You: EAM S Jaishankar Tears Into Pak With Hillary Clinton's Quote

Addressing reporters at the UN headquarters, the minister added that Pakistan must clean its act and be a good neighbour.

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar recalled US leader Hillary Clinton’s quote 'snakes in one’s backyard will eventually bite those who keep them' hinting towards Pakistan’s lack of action in tackling terrorism. 

The minister made the remarks while answering a reporter's question at the UN headquarters and said that the world sees Pakistan as the epicentre of terrorism. He said that Islamabad should clean up its act and try to be a good neighbour, reported PTI. 

Jaishankar was addressing reporters at the UN headquarters after chairing a signature event held under India’s presidency of the Council on ‘Global Counterterrorism Approach: Challenges and Way Forward.’ 

While responding to a question by PTI on Pakistan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar’s recent statements about a dossier and allegations against India, he said, “I saw, I read the reports on what minister Khar said. And I was reminded, more than a decade ago, my memory serves me right. Hillary Clinton was visiting Pakistan. And Hina Rabbani Khar was a minister at that time.” 

“Standing next to her, Hillary Clinton actually said that if you have... snakes in your backyard, you can’t expect them to bite only your neighbours. Eventually, they will bite the people who keep them in the backyard. But as you know, Pakistan is not great on taking good advice. You see what’s happening there,” Jaishankar recalled. 

The reference is from Hillary Clinton’s Pak visit in October 2011. She addressed the media with Pakistan’s then Foreign Minister Khar and said, “It's like that old story - you can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbours. Eventually, those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard.”  

In another question by a Pakistani reporter on how long South Asia is going to see terrorism disseminating from New Delhi, Kabul, and Pakistan, Jaishankar said, “You know, you're asking the wrong minister when you say how long will we do this? Because it is the ministers of Pakistan who will tell you how long Pakistan intends to practice terrorism,” he said. 

EAM Jaishankar further said, “…the world today sees them (Pakistan) as the epicentre of terrorism. Now I know we've been through two-and-a-half years of Covid and a lot of us have brain fog as a result. But I assure you the world has not forgotten where does terrorism (emanate), who has their fingerprints over a lot of activities in the region and beyond the region.” 

“So I would say that it's something which they should remind themselves before indulging in the kind of fantasies which they do,” he added. 

Earlier, Pakistan shared a "dossier" of India's alleged involvement in a blast outside Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's residence in Lahore on June 23 last year.