External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday called out the selective application of global norms, asserting that India has faced the longest-standing illegal occupation of a territory since World War II. He was referring to Pakistan's illegal occupation of parts of Kashmir.
"After World War II, the longest-standing illegal presence and occupation of a territory by another country pertains to India in Kashmir," he said while speaking at the Raisina Dialogue. "We went to the UN. What was an invasion was made into a dispute. The attacker and the victim were put on par."
Jaishankar underscored historical injustices in global governance, questioning the UN's failure to uphold sovereignty and territorial integrity fairly. He stressed that global norms must be applied uniformly and that double standards weaken international institutions. “We need a strong UN, but a strong UN requires a fair UN,” he said, stressing the need for a consistent and equitable global order.
The foreign minister added that a truly strong world order must have fundamental consistency in its standards — a call for reforming the United Nations to address historical biases and geopolitical inequalities. His remarks come amid India's long-standing demand for UN reforms, particularly in addressing cross-border terrorism, territorial disputes, and outdated power structures within global institutions.