Published: March 19, 2025 2:20 am
Author: RT
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has criticized the selective application of global rules dealing with territorial issues, including Kashmir
Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, an international forum hosted by the Observer Research Foundation and the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, Jaishankar said that when Western countries intervene in other nations, “it’s in pursuance of democratic freedoms,” while interventions in the West’s sphere “seem to have very malign intentions.”
“After the Second World War, the longest-standing illegal presence – what I would call the occupation of territory by another country – pertains to India, specifically what we saw in Kashmir,” Jaishankar said. “We went to the UN, where what was an invasion was turned into a dispute. The attacker and the victim were put on par. Who were the culpable parties? The UK, Canada, Belgium, Australia, and the USA. So, pardon me, I have some question marks on that one.”
The minister was referring to a long-standing confrontation between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region, which is claimed by both nations and has remained a point of contention between the two nuclear-armed neighbors since they achieved independence from British rule in 1947.
New Delhi has long blamed its neighbor for supporting and financing terrorism, both within its borders and in India. Islamabad, on its part, has accused India of committing human rights violations in Kashmir.
VIDEO | Delhi: Here’s what External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) said speaking during a session at Raisina Dialogue 2025.
“The longest-standing illegal occupation of a territory of a country by another pertains to India… What we saw in Kashmir. We went to the… pic.twitter.com/PaRiIYpZXn
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 18, 2025
On Tuesday, India criticized Pakistan’s comments on Jammu and Kashmir, following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks on the subject in a podcast with Lex Fridman. Modi said that every attempt to foster peace with Pakistan had been met with “hostility and betrayal” and expressed hope that wisdom would prevail in Islamabad to improve bilateral ties. Pakistan’s Foreign Office labeled Modi’s assertions as “misleading and one-sided.”
Jaishankar also pointed out the international community’s inconsistent stance on the Taliban. Once shunned as an outlier, the Taliban were later embraced in diplomatic talks in Doha and Oslo, only to be criticized again later for their actions. Jaishankar questioned the basis for this shift, suggesting that the West’s perception of the Taliban is driven by self-interest.
READ MORE: India raises Sikh separatists issue with US spy chief
The minister described it as essential for institutions such as the UN to audit the record of international affairs over the last eight decades and to recognize that global balances have shifted. “If we need to have an order, there must be fairness,” Jaishankar said, calling for “a strong UN” which would also be “a fair UN.” He argued that a “strong” global order must have some “basic consistency of standards.”
