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Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Uneasy interaction between FM Bilawal and India’s Jaishankar goes viral

Videos of the interaction, in which Jaishankar greeted Bilawal Bhutto with a "Namastey" in the Indian tradition but no handshake took place between the two dignitaries, are going viral on social media.

PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto is currently in India to attend the two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). This is a major development as it is for the first time in 12 years that a Pakistani foreign minister has visited India.

Bilawal Bhutto’s visit to India has sparked a lot of traction in the political spheres in both India and Pakistan. The visit is seen as a major step towards possibly easing the rivalry between the two South Asian countries. However, Bilawal Bhutto has also garnered much criticism for the visit from home.

Friday, his uneasy interaction with India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar came under the negative spotlight. Jaishankar greeted Bilawal Bhutto in Goa at a conclave of the SCO, however, the top Indian diplomat’s body language towards Bilawal Bhutto has become a talking point and is being seen as an insult.

Read more: What led to the great divide of India and Pakistan?

Videos of the interaction are going viral on social media. The visuals showed the Jaishankar greeting Bilawal Bhutto in the Indian tradition with a “Namastey”, however, no handshake took place between the two dignitaries.

Furthermore, during the photo ops, Bilawal Bhutto and S Jaishankar can be seen awkwardly standing apart, which is in stark contrast to S Jaishankar’s pictures with other foreign diplomats.

Needless to say, questions are being heavily raised on S Jaishankar’s body language towards Bilawal Bhutto and it is being considered an insult for Pakistan. According to netizens, S Jaishankar as the host should not have treated Bilawal Bhutto with what is being considered “cold indifference”.

https://twitter.com/arslankhalid_m/status/1654355024535859201

On the other hand, Bilawal Bhutto’s visit to India has been heavily criticized in Pakistan, especially by the PDM coalition’s political rival PTI. While slamming Bilawal for visiting India, PTI leaders accused him of ignoring the Modi government’s atrocities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). They also accused the young foreign minister of appeasing the US by visiting India, since both countries share strong ties.

Read more: PTI leaders slam FM Bilawal for visiting India