Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar on Saturday delivered an absolute tongue-in-cheek reply to US Senator Lindsey Graham when the latter tried to provide an opinion on resolving the Kashmir conflict in a style typical to US diplomacy.
US Senator Lindsey Graham told EAM S Jaishankar, “When it comes to Kashmir, I do not know how it ends but let us make sure that two democracies will end it differently.” With this, he had likely hoped the conversation to end with up-in-the-air diplomacy. However, he sure did not expect it when EAM S Jaishankar unapologetically replied, “Do not worry Senator. One democracy will settle it and you know which one.”
#WATCH EAM S Jaishankar replies, “Do not worry Senator. One democracy will settle it & you know which one” to US Senator Lindsey Graham, after the latter said, “When it comes to Kashmir, I do not know how it ends but let us make sure that two democracies will end it differently”. pic.twitter.com/kmbIu4baoN
— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2020
The exchange of banter occurred at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
With this, Jaishankar may have taken yet another jibe at the Western policy of constant interference over the Kashmir issue, shutting down the US legislator with his typical unabashedness.
On Saturday’s Munich Conference, Jaishankar further said that “something” should be done about the increasing loss of credibility of the United Nations in today’s world. “The United Nations is far less credible than it has been in history, which is not surprising because when you think about it, there are not too many things which are 75 years old and still as good as they were. Clearly there is something that needs to be done there.”
The comments come in the backdrop of an increasingly vocal West on the situation in Kashmir, calling on New Delhi to remove restrictions imposed after August 5 this year. The restrictions, according to the central government, were imposed to prevent any law and order situation which may be exploited by Pakistan to fan cross border terrorism in the valley.
EAM Jaishankar has had repeatedly insisted that the West should stop interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. At the Mediterranean Dialogue 2019 in Italy a few months back, he said that countries in Europe or North America should not take “positions” which look like double standards.
“The problem begins when you start being judgemental, the danger lies in the fact that you will be selective with some demonstrations somewhere being fine, but if one has stakes in the issue, the same demonstrations will not be liked,” EAM Jaishankar had said.
Source: dnaindia.com