“What we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir, which is under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. When that is done, I assure you that the Kashmir (issue) is solved,” Mr Jaishankar said. The comments are seen as a reiteration of the Modi government’s stand that the only pending issue between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue is the return of PoK to India.

On the actions of the Trump administration on the trade front, the foreign minister referred to the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington last month and said that both nations are engaged in trade talks and that commerce minister Piyush Goyal was currently in Washington for precisely these talks. It may be noted that US President Donald Trump had announced reciprocal sanctions starting April 2 on some countries, including India, whom he alleged were resorting to unfair tariffs against US goods.

Mr Jaishankar said the Trump administration’s policies were “in many ways good for India”. He said the US is now moving towards multipolarity, “which suits India”. He also said the Trump administration is focused on keeping energy prices stable and that India “welcomes” this. He said the perception of the US about itself now was “more as a nation and less as a (leader of the western) bloc”.

Asked by the interviewer about the concerns over the treatment of minorities in India including “Muslims, Tamils and Sikhs”, Mr Jaishankar retorted, “I am a Tamil and I feel very comfortable.”

The foreign minister said these concerns are driven by “votebank considerations and creating and pandering to identity lobbies”.

“I don’t think this is healthy politics. Good politics is about treating your citizens equally… We have been a fair polity. Tokenism is destructive politics. We reject this model,” Mr Jaishankar said.

Asked separately about concerns on human rights in India, Mr Jaishankar said that a lot of this is “political” and that India has been at the receiving end of such campaigns, adding that India has a strong human rights record. “We listen to it (the concerns). We are not perfect. Nobody is perfect. There can be situations that require remedy and redressal… We have a very strong human rights record. We have a credible democracy in which people have growing faith. The representation has broadened. The sweeping concern for human rights is misplaced. We don’t see any justification for it.”

On relations with China, Mr Jaishankar said that good bilateral ties will involve respect for concerns and sensitivities of both countries on both sides. He said bilateral ties had been badly disrupted due to Chinese actions in 2020 at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), while pointing out that both nations had reached a pact for disengagement of troops at the LAC in October last year, following which a meeting took place between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Russian city of Kazan.

On the issue of de-dollarisation and the Brics grouping, Mr Jaishankar maintained that “there is no united Brics position against the US dollar”. He added that India has no interest in undermining the US dollar and that, in fact, “many countries would like to see more dollars and not less”.

The external affairs minister also termed the free trade pact negotiations with Britain as a “painstaking negotiation” (process) having “economic consequences that will affect the lives of people”.