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Shyam Bhatia in London
External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha has said that questioning the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was on par with reopening the issue of the creation of Pakistan.
Sinha's robust response questioning the existence of Pakistan followed the questions put forward by Ijaz Hussein, a former media adviser to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
"The story of Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India is part of the Independence Act," Sinha said. "If you want to re-open all those questions, then you have to re-open the question of the creation of Pakistan.
"Why have a plebiscite only in Jammu and Kashmir?" he asked. "Why not in the whole subcontinent and ask if we want one nation as we were before?"
Hussein was a member of the invited audience at London's prestigious International Institute of International Affairs where the external affairs minister had been invited to make a keynote address entitled The Future Directions of India's Foreign Policy.
But what was billed as a low key, but important event, suddenly became highly charged after Sinha's bland but authoritative summation of India's foreign policy.
During the question and answer session after his half hour speech, Sinha was put on the spot when Musharraf's former media adviser stood up and asked, "How can you apply to be a permanent member of the Security Council after you mishandled Sri Lanka, bullied Dhaka and blockaded Nepal?"
"You need a surgical operation in Kashmir, not antibiotics. What about the two dozen UN resolutions on Kashmir that have been ignored?" he continued.
"Pakistan has talked of implementing UN resolutions for a long time," Sinha replied. "But the UN resolutions and plebiscite, the resolutions of 1947 and 1948, these were rejected at the time by Pakistan. Suddenly, Islamabad has demanded that these resolutions should be implemented."
Earlier, Sinha spoke of India's vital interests in South Asia and said New Delhi enjoyed excellent relations with all neighbours, except Pakistan.
"We want a peaceful, prosperous and stable Pakistan," Sinha said. "We are prepared to resolve all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, but we are not prepared to accept terrorism as an instrument of State policy."
Quoting Kautilya, Sinha said Indian foreign policy was consistent and geared to defending the country's national interest. He added that both foreign policy and national security issues were supported by a broad national consensus.
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