'Kashmir is ours and will remain so': MEA spokesperson after China- Pak joint statement in SCO meet

This response came after a joint statement from Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and Chinese Premier, Li Qiang, which called for resolving the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Charter.

"On Kashmir's issue, you know our stand. Kashmir is ours and will remain ours. This is our statement, and this is our stand. If someone says something, it doesn't change anything," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing, reported ANI.

The MEA also clarified that External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar did not engage in bilateral meetings with Pakistan during his recent visit to Islamabad, which was solely for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting.

Jaiswal underscored that Jaishankar’s only bilateral meeting during the visit was with Mongolia.

"When EAM was about to travel to Islamabad, we had issued a statement that this particular visit was for the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting. Beyond that in Islamabad, the only bilateral EAM had was with Mongolia," Jaiswal reiterated.

During his address at the SCO on Wednesday, Jaishankar highlighted cross-border terrorism, extremism, and separatism as the "three evils" that obstruct trade and people-to-people relations between nations.

Taking a subtle dig at Pakistan, Jaishankar stated that activities characterized by terrorism, extremism, and separatism "are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges in parallel."

After the summit, Jaishankar returned to Delhi from Islamabad, expressing gratitude to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar for their hospitality in a post on X (formerly Twitter).