A day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi said in his Parliament speech that China and Pakistan are closer because of the policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said he “won’t endorse” those remarks.
“I’ll leave it to Pakistanis and PRC to speak to their relationship,” Price further said at a press briefing.Gandhi’s remarks were slammed by Union ministers, with external affairs minister S Jaishankar saying he needs some “some history lessons”. Jaishankar also said that Pakistan illegally handed over the Shaksgam Valley to China in 1963, when a Congress government was in office.
“Rahul Gandhi alleged in Lok Sabha that it is this Government which brought Pakistan and China together. Perhaps, some history lessons are in order: In 1963,Pakistan illegally handed over the Shaksgam valley to China. China built the Karakoram highway through PoK in the 1970s,” Jaishankar said in a tweet on Wednesday.
Taunting Gandhi over his frequent foreign visits, Jaishankar further said that “those who live in India know we were in the midst of a corona wave” and added that India held a virtual summit with presidents of five central Asian countries.
Jaishankar asked if Rahul Gandhi also missed the India-Central Asia Summit held on January 27.
