"Pak ministers stalk Indian leaders": Former envoy calls Pakistani reports of EAM's Dhaka handshake "laughable"

New Delhi [India], January 1 (ANI): Former diplomat Suresh K Goel on Thursday said that the reports from Pakistan on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's handshake with Pakistani Speaker are laughable and that whenever Pakistani ministers see an Indian leader, they "jump" in hopes of changing things.
In an interview to ANI, when asked his interpretation of the interaction between EAM Jaishankar and Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq in Dhaka, Goel said, "I simply feel like laughing at it. I don't think in the current climate where we have terrorism attacks from Pakistan into our territory, the Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir flaunting the prowess and how they are actually developing terrorist bases and re-establishing them, when the Pakistani army and the ISI continue to flaunt their evil towards India and mock at Indian victory and continue to falsify all things, I think it's a laughable thing."
He added, "The Pakistani ministers practically stalk the Indian leaders, and whenever they see the Indian leader, they immediately jump in like it's going to really change things. So I think it was it must have been something of that kind really and nothing beyond that."
The desperation in the Pakistan's top leadership once again came out on Wednesday after Pakistan attempted to amplify what was a courtesy handshake between EAM S Jaishankar and the Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq in Dhaka.
The exchange took place on the sidelines of the funeral of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, which Sadiq and Jaishankar attended. It was among the few visible contacts at the senior level since relations deteriorated earlier this year following the Pahalgam attack, where 26 tourists were killed which India has said was the work of Pakistan-backed terror networks.
According to a press release issued by Pakistan's National Assembly Secretariat, Pakistan has claimed that the handshake occurred when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar approached Ayaz Sadiq during the event, reported Dawn.
India-Pakistan relations came under severe strain earlier this year following the terror attack in Pahalgam, after which India undertook calibrated diplomatic and strategic measures to safeguard national security.
In response to the attack, India scaled down diplomatic engagement and initiated policy steps reflecting its long-standing position that dialogue cannot coexist with terrorism. Among these measures was the suspension of participation in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a landmark 1960 agreement brokered by the World Bank, highlighting the seriousness with which India viewed the security situation.
India also restricted cross-border transit and other bilateral engagements, reiterating that any engagement requires demonstrable action against terrorism and accountability for attacks targeting civilians.
Against this backdrop, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in response to the attack.
Indian Armed Forces carried out precision strikes against terror camps operated by Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). India subsequently repelled Pakistani escalation and targeted its airbases.
India has consistently emphasised that any engagement with Pakistan must be based on mutual respect, verifiable security assurances and a terrorism-free environment, while firmly safeguarding its national interests. (ANI)