From Kyiv to Kashmir, Jaishankar delivers 2 blunt messages to Poland at meeting

NEW  new delhi:  polska should demo zero in tolerance for terrorist act and not help fuel terrorist infrastructure in India’s neighbourhood, external affairs minister S Jaishankar told his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski on Monday, an apparent response to a mention of Kashmir and terrorism in a joint statement issued by Poland and Pakistan last year.Jaishankar also pointedly raised the “selective targeting” of India by European states in the context of the war in Ukraine, describing the trend as unfair and unjustified. The comments were part of Jaishankar’s televised remarks at the start of his meeting with Sikorski. References to the Kashmir issue and state support for terrorism in a Pakistan-Poland joint statement issued after Sikorski’s visit to Islamabad last October had not gone down well in New Delhi. During a meeting of the Weimar Triangle Plus format in Paris earlier this month that was joined by Jaishankar, Sikorski had expressed satisfaction at India’s reduction of Russian oil imports “because this is financing the war machine of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin”.Jaishankar, in his televised remarks, pointed to the long-standing challenge of cross-border terrorism and said: “I hope at this meeting to discuss some of your recent travels to the region. Poland should display zero tolerance for terrorism and not help fuel the terrorist infrastructure in our neighbourhood.”He pointed to his recent meetings with Sikorski in New York last September and in Paris this month and said he had candidly shared India’s views on the Ukraine conflict and its implications. “While doing so, I have repeatedly underlined that the selective targeting of India is both unfair and unjustified,” he said.Sikorski said he agreed with Jaishankar on countering trans-border terrorism and noted that Poland too has been a “victim of arson and attempted state terrorism”, including the recent blowing up of the Polish railway line under a moving train. “I also completely agree with you on the unfairness of selective targeting by tariffs, and we in Europe have known something about that,” he said.Following Sikorski’s remarks, Jaishankar clarified that “selective targeting is not limited to tariffs” and that there were other forms of this.The Pakistan-Poland joint statement of October 2025 referred to the “Kashmir dispute” and called for peaceful solutions to conflicts in line with the principles of international law and the UN Charter. It also “emphasised the importance of dialogue and cooperation to address regional security challenges in South Asia”. While condemning all forms of terrorism, the joint statement said “no State should provide a safe haven to those who finance, plan, support, or commit terrorist acts”.Such references in joint statements involving Pakistan are usually a red flag for India, which has repeatedly accused the neighbouring country of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and asserted that the Kashmir issue can only be handled by New Delhi and Islamabad as a bilateral matter.At the meeting between Jaishankar and Sikorski, the two sides reviewed the bilateral action plan for 2024-28 and discussed ways to advance cooperation in trade, investment, defence, security, clean technologies, and digital innovation.Poland is one of India’s largest trading partners in Central Europe, and the two countries elevated their ties to a strategic partnership in 2024. Two-way trade is currently worth $7 billion, and has grown almost 200% in the past decade. Indian investments in Poland have crossed $3 billion, and Jaishankar said India’s economic growth, market size and pro-investment policies provide key opportunities for Polish businesses.Poland has also backed a proposed India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement, negotiations for which are expected to be concluded during the India-EU Summit in New Delhi on January 27.