'Don’t glorify terrorists as martyrs,' Rajnath tells Pak; speech blacked out

Singh's speech at SAARC conference in Islamabad was blacked out and no media was allowed to cover his speech.

Islamabad/New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh sent a strong message to Pakistan at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit which was held at Islamabad on Thursday and said ‘there should be no glorification of terrorists as martyrs’.

The message was a direct attack on the Nawaz Sharif government that had branded Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani a ‘martyr’ and had even observed a Black Day in Pakistan to mourn his death.

Read: In Pak for SAARC meet, Rajnath calls on Sharif as a ‘formal courtesy call’

“There should be no glorification of terrorists as martyrs. There is no good or bad terrorism. Terrorism is terrorism,” Rajnath said at the SAARC conference.

“Those who provide support, encouragement, give sanctuary and safe haven and assistance to terrorists and terrorism must be isolated,” he added.

Singh's speech at SAARC conference was blacked out and no media was allowed to cover his speech.

The ongoing strain in Indo-Pak relations was evident at the conference when Singh came face-to-face with his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan for the first time on Thursday and the two leaders barely shook hands.

Members of the Indian media, which came from New Delhi to report the conference, were not allowed to capture the moment and were kept at a distance by Pakistani officials, which led to a verbal dual between a senior Indian official and a Pakistani official.

Indian officials said the ongoing chill in Indo-Pak relations after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was clearly visible in the conference.

(This article first appeared in Deccan Chronicle)