Kashmir solved when part stolen by Pak returns, says Jaishankar

This is in line with what has been said about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by BJP ministers in the past including Union Home Minister Amit Shah who, in May last year, said, “PoK is part of India and we will take it.”

Jaishankar’s remarks drew a sharp response from Islamabad Thursday. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said, “We reject the remarks made by the Indian External Affairs Minister on Jammu and Kashmir during an event held at Chatham House, London on March 5… India should vacate the large territories of Jammu and Kashmir under its occupation from the last 77 years.”

On US President Donald Trump’s approach, Jaishankar, who was in a  conversation with Chatham House director Bronwen Maddox, said the Trump administration is moving towards multipolarity which suits India’s interests, and the two nations have agreed on the need for a bilateral trade pact.

“We see a (US) President and an administration which, in our parlance, is moving towards multipolarity and that is something that suits India,” he said.

“From President Trump’s perspective, the one big shared enterprise that we have is the Quad, which is an understanding where everybody pays their fair share… There are no free riders involved. So that’s a good model which works,” he said, referring to the Quad grouping of US, India, Australia and Japan.

On the issue of reciprocal tariffs, Jaishankar said that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is currently in Washington to discuss a bilateral trade pact, following discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump at the White House last month.

“We had a very open conversation about it (tariffs) and the result of that conversation was that we agreed on the need for a bilateral trade agreement,” he said.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said, “We have been one of the few countries who have been regularly talking to both Moscow and Kyiv at various levels… Wherever there’s been a sense that India can do something, we have always been open-minded about it. Our consistent position has been that they need to do direct negotiations.”

During the conversation, Jaishankar also expressed “cautious optimism” about the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations after his ministerial discussions over the past few days. He met Foreign Secretary David Lammy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London.

“It’s a very complicated process. So, given the complexity, it’s natural that it would take time… from my discussions with Prime Minister (Keir) Starmer, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and (Business) Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, I got a consistent message that the British side is also interested in moving forward. I had a few points to convey on behalf of my concerned colleagues as well. So, I am cautiously optimistic and hope that it doesn’t take that long,” he said.

On China, Jaishankar noted some positive movements since October 2024, including the opening of the Mount Kailash pilgrimage route in Tibet.

“We have a very, very unique relationship with China as the only two billion plus populated countries in the world… We want a relationship where our interests are respected, sensitivities are recognised and works for both of us,” he said.

Jaishankar, who has been in the UK since March 3, has discussed the Ukraine conflict, trade and technology during his meetings with the British interlocutors. With Lammy, he said, he discussed education, technology, mobility and people-to-people exchanges, and regional and global issues including West Asia, Bangladesh and the Commonwealth.

He goes to Ireland from the UK, which will be the first high-level visit from India since Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Dublin in 2015.

— (With PTI inputs from Islamabad)