Sushma Swaraj passes away: 6 times the former EAM exposed & isolated Pakistan, upheld India

Sushma Swaraj passed away on August 6, after suffering from cardiac arrest at New Delhi AIIMS hospital. She was taken to AIIMS at quarter to nine in a critical condition on Tuesday evening. An affable leader, Sushma Swaraj was the most approachable and the one who had dedicated her life to public service. 

The former external affairs minister was not only known in the international platform for her magnificent work and oratory but also honoured in the country for standing with all those who needed her. In her party, the BJP, Swaraj was known as a guiding force, and in her political career she is recalled for her political punches. Across party lines, she is honoured not only for being an able administrator, fiery speaker, but also one who respects her opponents.  

READ: Sushma Swaraj passes away: Syed Akbaruddin pays tribute, shares her memorable moments at the UN. Watch here

Swaraj had taken a tough stand against Pakistan numerous times, here is a list of incidents where the former external affairs minister has successfully cornered Pakistan in an international forum and exposed its wrongdoings. 

1. TOOK ON PAKISTAN AT THE UN: It was Susahma Swaraj who made India proud with her UNGA speech last year where she said - "The most startling evidence of this duplicity was the fact that Osama Bin Laden, the architect and ideologue of 9/11 was given safe haven in Pakistan. The killers of 9/11 met their fate; but the mastermind of 26/11 Hafiz Saeed still roams the streets of Pakistan with impunity. Pakistan's commitment to terrorism as an instrument of official policy has not abated one bit. Neither has its belief in hypocrisy."
    
2. RESPONSIBLE FOR INDIA JOINING THE SCO & RESOLVING DOKLAM: It was Sushma Swaraj who as the External Affairs Minister not just resolved the Doklam standoff with deftness but was the woman responsible for India's joining of the SCO as well.
    
3. THE SPINE BEHIND INDIA’S ICJ VICTORY: Sushma Swaraj was the facilitator for India to put up a strong and winning fight at the global forum of the ICJ in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case. Unlike governments of the past she intervened with alacrity, with fierceness and with a steely determination we hadn’t seen before.
    
4. CREATED HISTORY AT THE OIC: It was Sushma Swaraj who created History at the end of her tenure by becoming the Guest of Honour at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a first such invite in 5 decades. In what was a major diplomatic victory for India and a setback for Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates invited her to attend the foreign ministers’ meet of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) States — the first such invite in five decades. Swaraj will be the “guest of honour" at the inaugural plenary 46th meeting of OIC foreign ministers.
    
5. SHE SHOWED TERRORISTS THERE PLACE: It was under the aegis of Sushma Swaraj that India became diplomatic powerhouse that could ensure the UNSC designation of JeM Chief Masood Azhar that subjected him to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo. In a huge diplomatic win for India, the United Nations designated Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist" after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief, a decade after New Delhi approached the world body for the first time on the issue. 
    
6. ISOLATED PAKISTAN IN SAARC: A nationalist who could win over nations, Sushma Swaraj ensured Pakistan was isolated right after the URI attacks with all nations pulling out of the SAARC Summit.  Apart from India, three other nations - Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan - have also pulled out of the meet, isolating host Pakistan. The SAARC or South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit cannot take place even if one of the eight members withdraws.