External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday came down heavily on the West for supporting the military regime in Pakistan and said India’s borders have been violated by the neighbouring country in Kashmir ever since India’s independence in 1947.

An article in “Politiken” during his visit to Denmark quoted Jaishankar as saying, “Our borders have been violated by Pakistan in Kashmir ever since our independence in 1947. And what have we seen in the eight decades since then? That large, democratic Europe, to use your own term, has stood side by side with military dictatorships in the region. No one has supported the military regime – and undermined democracy in Pakistan in so many ways – as much as the West.”

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The External Affairs Minister emphasised that India supports countries’ sovereignty and internationally recognised borders.

“But my worldview and my view of Europe are shaped by my own experiences. You talk about the inviolability of borders – well, why don’t we start with the inviolability of my borders? That’s where my world begins. But we’ve always been told that we had to solve that ourselves,” he said.

On a question about the recent escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan, Jaishankar in his firm reply said, “It wasn’t a conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. It was a terrorist attack.”

On April 22, at least 26 tourists, including one Nepali citizen, were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. In response, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7.

Jaishankar further said terrorism remains one of the foremost collective challenges faced by the Global South, alongside climate change, poverty, and the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Of the major collective challenges today, I would place terrorism at the top – alongside climate change, growing poverty, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Global South,” he said.

The term “Global South” broadly refers to developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania.

On the Russian energy issue, Jaishankar pointed out that Europe, despite its outrage and sanctions, still imports energy from Russia. At the same time, Europe is driving up energy prices for all developing countries, including India.

“Wealthy Europe turned to the Middle East because it had a problem with Russia and offered inflated prices to get oil redirected to Europe. So what happened was that many countries – not just us – could no longer afford it. The major oil companies didn’t even respond to purchase offers because they were too busy selling to Europe,” he said.

“What was the rest of the world supposed to do? Say ‘okay’, we’ll just do without energy because Europeans need it more than us?” he asked.

Jaishankar added that matters aren’t made easier by the fact that major oil-producing countries like Iran and Venezuela are also subject to Western sanctions.

“We are societies where income levels are 1/120 of Europe’s. For us, energy is a matter of life and death. Just as Europe has every right to make its own choices, you should respect our right to do the same. Let us find our own solutions,” he said.