No Country Says Everybody Is Welcome: Jaishankar

No country in the world says everybody is welcome, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Saturday, hitting out at those criticising India over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Mr. Jaishankar criticised the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for its criticism on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, saying its director had been wrong previously too and one should look at the U.N. body’s past record on handling the Kashmir issue.

“We have tried to reduce the number of stateless people through this legislation. That should be appreciated,” he said when asked about the CAA at a media event in New Delhi. “We have done it in a way that we do not create a bigger problem for ourselves.””

“Everybody, when they look at citizenship, have a context and has a criterion. Show me a country in the world which says everybody in the world is welcome. Nobody says that,” the Minister said.

The External Affairs Minister said moving out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was in the interest of India’s business.

Asked about the UNHRC director not agreeing with India on the Kashmir issue, Mr. Jaishankar said: “UNHRC director has been wrong before. UNHRC skirts around cross-border terrorism as if it has nothing to do with country next door. Please understand where they are coming from; look at UNHRC’s record, how they handled Kashmir issue in past.”