External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday underscored the need for a just international order. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue session on ‘Thrones and Thorns: Defending the Integrity of Nations,’ he criticized the United Nations for equating attackers and victims in global conflicts, particularly in Kashmir.
Jaishankar termed Pakistan’s occupation of parts of Kashmir as the “longest-standing illegal occupation” of any territory since World War II. He lambasted the UN for transforming the “invasion” into a “dispute” and pointed to Western nations—UK, Canada, Belgium, Australia, and the US—as responsible for this misrepresentation.
“After the Second World War, the longest standing illegal, I would say presence, occupation of a territory by another country pertains to India, what we saw in Kashmir. Now we went to the UN, what was an invasion was made into a dispute. So the attacker and the victim were put on par. Who were the culpable parties? UK, Canada, Belgium, Australia, USA,” Jaishankar said.
#WATCH | Raisina Dialogue 2025 | Delhi: At the ‘Thrones and Thorns: Defending the Integrity of Nations’ session, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, “We all speak of sovereignty and territorial integrity. It’s a vital principle and a bedrock of global rules. After World War II, the… pic.twitter.com/1iygclSxqu
— ANI (@ANI) March 18, 2025
He criticized the application of global norms, citing the Taliban’s fluctuating status in international diplomacy. He questioned why the Taliban were accepted in negotiations during the Doha process and Oslo talks but later labeled as extremists.
Jaishankar reaffirmed that sovereignty and territorial integrity form the “bedrock of global rules.” He pointed out inconsistencies in the West’s stance on foreign interventions, “When the West goes out into other countries, it’s in pursuance of democratic freedoms. When other countries come into the West, it seems to have a very malign intention.”
Comparing military coups in different regions, he questioned why such takeovers in Myanmar are condemned while those in other parts of the world are overlooked. He called for an audit of the global system’s functioning over the past eight decades, urging an updated global order reflecting contemporary realities.
Calling for a “strong but fair” UN, Jaishankar stressed that power structures need to evolve with changing global balances. “We need a different conversation and, frankly, a different order,” he asserted.
The session featured Slovakia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanar, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, Liechtenstein’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique Hasler, and Fiker Institute Founder Dubai Abulhoul.
The Raisina Dialogue, hosted in Delhi from March 17-19 by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, is India’s premier geopolitical and geoeconomic forum addressing key global challenges.
