A Chinese daily has slammed India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj for her strong criticism of Pakistan for harbouring terrorists, saying it is “politically imbecilic and unsophisticated” to think that Islamabad exports terrorism.

The editorial in state-run Global Times defending Pakistan against its failure to flush out terrorists is not surprising as China has always lavished praise on its “all-weather ally” for being at the “forefront” of tackling terrorism.

The newspaper, run by the Communist Party, said Sushma Swaraj’s speech at the UN reflected India’s arrogance and “bigotry” towards Pakistan.

Sushma in her address last week at the UN General Assembly tore into Pakistan for sheltering terrorists.

“Why is it that today India is a recognized IT superpower in the world and Pakistan is recognized only as the pre-eminent export factory for terror?” she had said.

The newspaper asked what makes Sushma Swaraj believe that Pakistan exports terrorism and India is an IT superpower?

“There is indeed terrorism in Pakistan. But is supporting terror the country’s national policy? What can Pakistan gain from exporting terrorism? Money or honour? Is India really an IT superpower that produces engineers and doctors when it is hell-bent on believing Pakistan is evil?”

“It is politically imbecilic and unsophisticated for Indian elites to conclude that Pakistan exports terrorism. They should have seen the efforts and sacrifice that Pakistan has made to rid the world of terrorism and refrain from mixing disputes over terrorism with their own historical disputes,” the editorial said.

China has steadfastly shielded Pakistan from criticism from India, the US or any other country, and told them not to single out Islamabad on terror.

In fact, China has repeatedly blocked India’s resolution at the UN to declare Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist.

The newspaper also mentioned that the Minister in her speech took a “dig at China for blocking international efforts to blacklist Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar”.

“By trumpeting India’s justice and grandeur while rebuking its neighbour’s foolishness and ugliness, the minister (Swaraj) seems to have moved herself and the whole country.”

“But it is a grave disaster when Indians are confident in their rightness and their neighbours’ wrongs while super-proud of India’s capabilities in cultivating engineers and doctors. A country that despises others can hardly seek agreement over conflicts.

“India’s bigotry toward Pakistan doesn’t match its much-vaunted ambition to be a world power. By inflaming nationalism in the Indian public, Indians become more determined to make India first than even US President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’.

“With the smooth development of its economy and foreign relations in recent years, an arrogant India has looked down on Pakistan and assumed a haughty air with China.

“It takes for granted that it should be feared by neighbors and wooed by the US and Europe. If smart enough, India should befriend China and respect Pakistan, preventing disputes from spilling over,” it said.