'China has no locus standi': India criticizes Wang Yi for raking up Kashmir matter at OIC in Pakistan

New Delhi, Mar 24: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) slammed China for its "uncalled reference" to India and raked up the Kashmir issue at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Foreign Ministers' meeting held in Pakistan's Islamabad.

 

 

MEA Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the matters related to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir are India's internal matters and Beijing has no locus standi to comment. “We reject the uncalled reference to India by the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his speech at the opening ceremony,” he said.

 

Bagchi asserted that the matters related to Kashmir are “entirely the internal affairs of India”. “They (China) should note that India refrains from the public judgement of their internal issues,” he said. India usually does not criticize China over its internal issues including those related to Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, human rights violations, and atrocities against Uyghurs in Xinjiang province. So, this is a stern message to Beijing from New Delhi.

 

 

 

The harsh response from India came after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in his speech at the OIC meeting, said, "On the Kashmir issue, we have heard the voices of many Islamic friends again today and China has the same desire for this," without elaborating further. “China would continue to support the people of Palestine and Kashmir in their just freedom struggles,” he added.

 

 It should be noted that Wang Yi is expected to be in India in the coming days.  This could impact the fate of Wang’s visit. He plans to be in Nepal from March 25 to 27. 

 

 

Yi's remarks on Kashmir were in response to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's keynote address at the 48th Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC at the Parliament House, where he sought to raise the issues of Palestine and Kashmir in the same breath. Further, he said, “China will continue to support Islamic countries in using Islamic wisdom to solve contemporary hotspot issues, and firmly hold the right to maintaining stability and promoting peace in its own hands."

 

Apart from Wang Yi, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also talked about Kashmir and lamented the OIC’s inability to intervene on the issue. “We have failed Kashmir despite being 1.5 billion in strength,” he said. During the event, even Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi raised the Kashmir issue and alleged that New Delhi actions violate the resolutions of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and increased the threat of a conflict between India and Pakistan.

 

 

India has repeatedly told China and Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and shall forever" be an integral part of the country. It also advised Pakistan to accept the reality and stop all anti-India propaganda. However, it was Pakistan's yet another unsuccessful attempt to gain "international sympathy" against India.