External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in a rebuff to Western thought that the clash between India and Pakistan was over Kashmir, stated firmly that it was in retaliation for a terrorist attack, in reference to the Pahalgam attack.
In an interview to Politiken, a Danish newspaper, the EAM stated firmly: ”It wasn’t a conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. It was a terrorist attack,” in reference to the April 22 brutal attack by Pakistani linked terrorists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
On the West’s backing of Pakistan over the past decades, he said: “Our borders have been violated by Pakistan in Kashmir ever since our independence in 1947. And what have we seen in the eight decades since then? That large, democratic Europe, to use your own term, has stood side by side with military dictatorships in the region.
“No one has supported the military regime – and undermined democracy in Pakistan in so many ways – as much as the West,” in a dig at the West.
Asked how India continues to support Russia, in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, and also emphasise that India supports countries’ sovereignty and internationally recognised borders, the EAM said:
“But my worldview and my view of Europe are shaped by my own experiences. You talk about the inviolability of borders – well, why don’t we start with the inviolability of my borders?
“That’s where my world begins. But we’ve always been told that we had to solve that ourselves.”
Regarding the import of Russian energy, EAM Jaishankar pointed out that Europe – despite its outrage and sanctions – still imports energy from Russia. At the same time, Europe is driving up energy prices for all developing countries, including India.
“Wealthy Europe turned to the Middle East because it had a problem with Russia and offered inflated prices to get oil redirected to Europe. So what happened was that many countries – not just us – could no longer afford it. The major oil companies didn’t even respond to purchase offers because they were too busy selling to Europe.”
“What was the rest of the world supposed to do? Say ‘okay’, we’ll just do without energy because Europeans need it more than us?” he continued.
He added that “matters were not made easier by the fact that major oil-producing countries like Iran and Venezuela are also subject to Western sanctions”. (Agencies)
