India on Friday rejected Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide's remarks on the Kashmir issue, saying the international community should instead be concerned about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and its use for cross-border terrorism.
Following talks with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Thursday, Eide said the two sides had discussed regional issues ranging from Jammu and Kashmir to Afghanistan.
Dar said he had briefed Eide on the "long-standing unresolved" dispute over Kashmir and the new dimension added to the "volatile security situation" by India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal rejected Eide's remarks and said the whole of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh was an integral and inalienable part of India.
"Let me say that the whole of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India," Jaiswal said at his bi-weekly media briefing when asked about Eide's comments.
"The issue that should concern the international community are the atrocities currently being perpetrated in the illegal Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the use of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir for cross-border terrorism," he said.
Responding to a question on Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's criticism of India's decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, Jaiswal said there had been no change in India's position.
"You are aware of our position on the Indus Waters Treaty and there has been no change in that," he said.
India decided to put the IWT in abeyance as part of a series of punitive diplomatic and economic measures announced soon after the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year, in which 26 civilians were killed.
New Delhi has maintained that the treaty will remain in abeyance until Pakistan "credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism."
Examining Dhaka's request for petroleum supplies
As Bangladesh faces an acute energy crisis, India on Friday said it was examining Dhaka's request for additional supplies of petroleum products.
"We have an ongoing arrangement with Bangladesh for the supply of diesel. Insofar as the request for additional supplies is concerned, it will be examined keeping in mind our own requirements, our refining capacity, as well as the availability of diesel in our country," Jaiswal said.
He also said India had invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for a bilateral visit and to attend the outreach session of the upcoming BRICS summit in New Delhi.
"We have extended an invitation to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for a bilateral visit. We've also extended an invitation to the prime minister for a visit to India for the outreach session of the BRICS Summit," he said.
"So these invitations have been extended, and I shall keep you updated if there is any progress in this regard," he added.
India will host the annual BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13 as its current chair. The summit is expected to discuss pressing global challenges, including the economic consequences of the West Asia crisis.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the leaders expected to attend the summit.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
The grouping has emerged as an influential bloc, bringing together 11 major emerging economies that account for around 49.5% of the global population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade.
(With inputs from PTI)
