Attacker, victim put on par: Jaishankar on Kashmir

The "longest-standing" illegal occupation of a territory after World War II has been experienced by India in Kashmir, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday as he highlighted the selective application of global rules on issues pertaining to sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar batted for establishing a "strong and fair" United Nations as he raised concerns over historical injustices in dealing with certain issues.

Citing Pakistan's illegal occupation of Kashmir, the minister said the "attacker" and the "victim" were clubbed under the same bracket.

"After World War II, the longest-standing illegal presence and occupation of a territory by another country pertains to India in Kashmir," he said.

"We went to the UN. What was an invasion was made into a dispute. The attacker and the victim were put on par," Jaishankar said.

The external affairs minister said global norms and rules must be applied uniformly.

"We need a strong UN but a strong UN requires a fair UN," he said.

"A strong global order must have some basic consistency of standards," he added.