Jaishankar on Kashmir issue: 'Most of it solved, waiting for return of stolen part'

He made these remarks at a session titled "India’s Rise and Role in the World" hosted by the Chatham House think tank in London.

Jaishankar on Kashmir issue

When asked about the issues of Kashmir, Jaishankar said, "In Kashmir, we have done a good job solving most of it. I think removing Article 370 was one step. Then, restoring growth, economic activity and social justice in Kashmir was step number two. Holding elections, which were done with a very high turnout, was step number three. I think the part we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir, which is on the illegal Pakistani occupation. When that's done, I assure you, Kashmir solved."

EAM Jaishankar also spoke on several other issues. These included relationship with China, internationalisation of the Rupee, the role of the dollar currency in the international economy and the position of BRICS countries around it.

"I don't think there's any policy on our part to replace the dollar. As I said, at the end of the day, the dollar as the reserve currency is the source of international economic stability. And right now, what we want in the world is more economic stability, not less. I would also say in all honesty, I don't think there's a unified BRICS position on this. I think BRICS members and now that we have more members have very diverse positions on this matter. So the suggestion or the assumption that somewhere there is a united BRICS position against the dollar I think is not borne out by facts. To me it's kind of deterministic that there is multi-polarity, multi-polarity has to translate itself into a currency multi-polarity. It doesn't have to."

Trump's move towards multipolarity suits India: Jaishankar

Jaishankar also said that the US administration under President Donald Trump 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 president and an administration which, in our parlance, is moving towards multipolarity and that is something that suits India," said Jaishankar, who is on a six-day visit to the UK and Ireland.

Referring to the Quad alliance of the US, India, Australia, and Japan, 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."

(With agencies input)