NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar slammed selective application of global rules on issues pertaining to sovereignty and territorial integrity, and cited the example of J&K where he said an invasion was turned into a dispute and the attacker was clubbed with the victim.
Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, he said after World War II, the longest-standing illegal presence and occupation of a territory by another country (Pakistan) pertained to Kashmir.
Attacker, victim were put on a par: EAM on J&K
We went to the UN. What was an invasion was made into a dispute. The attacker and the victim were put on a par,” said S Jaishankar, who has in the past too hit out at the West for its preoccupation with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while ignoring similar threats in the Indo-Pacific.
Jaishankar also underlined the importance of having a fair and strong UN, saying there was a need for a different international order, just like there was need for a new domestic order.
Without naming Pakistan, he said it was not just big countries that benefited from the lack of order.
“Any country which takes risks, has extreme positions, tests the system, will use disorder to its advantage. We’ve seen in our own neighbourhood, you don’t have to be a big country to be a risky country. We have some smaller neighbours who have done a pretty good job at that,” the minister said.
“We should all understand the importance of order. The old order was a product of its times… Its virtues were exaggerated because the rule maker and the rule taker had different perspectives. If you were at the receiving end of some of those rules, you had issues. If it suits your interest, somebody is good, not good… you apply that order to the same country on the same issues, differently,” he added.
The minister went on to cite the example of Myanmar which has been targeted by the West for its military rule but not Pakistan, again without naming the country. “We have military rule to our east – in Myanmar. They are a no-no. But we have them even more to the West. You know where? They seem to be okay. I think it’s important to audit the working of the world for the last eight decades and be honest about it and to understand today that the balances, the shareholdings in the world have changed. We need a different conversation. We frankly need a different order,” he said.
