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

Former diplomat Suresh K Goel on Thursday said 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 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 an Indian leader, they immediately jump in like it's going to really change things. So I think 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 Jaishankar and 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.

According to a press release issued by Pakistan's National Assembly Secretariat, Pakistan has claimed that the handshake occurred when Jaishankar approached Sadiq during the event, reported Dawn.