India opposes Germany’s call for UN role in J&K, says global community should call out international terrorism

India on Saturday sharply raised objection to Germany’s call for a UN role in resolving the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and said it is a “bilateral issue between India and Pakistan”.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, during a joint press conference with her Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Bonn, called for the “engagement of the United Nations” on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Germany has a role and responsibility with regard to the situation of Kashmir. Therefore, we support intensively the engagement of the United Nations to find peaceful solutions in the region,” Baerbock said.

Baerbock also said, “There are tensions as [Mr Bhutto] described, so we encourage Pakistan and we encourage India to follow the track of the ceasefire, to follow the track of the United Nations, and to intensify the political dialogue, and also the political and practical cooperation in the region.” She went on to add, “It also counts for Kashmir and, therefore, we support the work of the United Nations also with the situation in Kashmir to ensure that all the human rights are being guaranteed.”

Germany’s support for Pakistan without mentioning a word on cross-border terror smacks of envy of India’s strategic autonomy and Islamabad’s leverage over Berlin for extraction of loyal Afghans from the Taliban-ruled Emirate, reported Hindustan Times.

Rejecting UN intervention, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “All serious and conscientious members of the global community have a role and responsibility to call out international terrorism, especially of a cross-border nature.”

Our response to media queries on comments regarding Jammu and Kashmir during recent joint press conference of the Foreign Ministers of Germany and Pakistanhttps://t.co/sZZ88zfQVa pic.twitter.com/K3hqhLZbjM

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 8, 2022

In a statement issued on Saturday, Bagchi said, “The Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has borne the brunt of such a terrorist campaign for decades. This continues till now. Foreign nationals have been victims there, as also in other parts of India. The UN Security Council and FATF are still pursuing Pakistan-based terrorists involved in the horrific 26/11 attacks.”

India’s response was to direct the European nation to the problems of terrorism that emanate from Pakistan and the need to first address that before looking into the long-standing dispute between India and Pakistan which has to be resolved “bilaterally”.

“When states do not recognise such dangers, either because of self-interest or indifference, they undermine the cause of peace, not promote it. They also do grave injustice to the victims of terrorism,” Bagchi added.

-INDIA NEWS STREAM