Raised issue with Tehran: MEA after Kashmir mentioned in Pakistan-Iran joint statement

New Delhi: In the wake of the Kashmir issue finding its way into a joint statement issued at the conclusion of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's visit to Pakistan, India on Thursday said it has "raised this matter with the Iranian authorities".

President Raisi paid an official visit to Pakistan from April 22-24 at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian as well as other members of the cabinet and senior officials.

Pakistan and Iran have agreed that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through "peaceful means based on the will of the people" of the region, said a joint statement issued by the two countries after Raisi's maiden visit to Islamabad on Wednesday.

In response to a question on the Kashmir issue being mentioned in the joint statement, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "On that issue, we have raised this matter with the Iranian authorities."

Responding to a poser on whether Raisi has also proposed to visit India, he said, "Regarding your second question about their President's visit, as you know, we inform you about such visits at appropriate time, when everything is ready and finalised."

The joint statement stated that taking note of developments at regional and global levels, both sides stressed the importance of peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy to find mutually acceptable solutions to common challenges.

India has previously rejected such statements by other countries on the Kashmir issue.

"The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has locus standi to comment on the same," the MEA spokesperson has asserted repeatedly.

On a query on Bangladesh soon going to conduct a joint military exercise with China, Jaiswal said India keeps a "close watch on all developments that happen in our neighbourhood and beyond, which impact our interests, economic and security interests", adding, "we take appropriate measures accordingly".

Asked about the investigation into the allegations made by the US in the Gurpatwant Singh Pannun case, he said, "We have set up a high-level committee. The committee is looking into several information that was shared by the American side with us, because they also equally impact our national security."

The high-level committee is looking into those aspects and that is where it is right now, Jaiswal said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on April 1 had said that India's national security interests are involved in its investigation into the alleged involvement of a government official in the assassination plot aimed at Khalistani extremist Pannun.

On a query on how India perceives future relations with the Maldives, he said, "We have historical relations with Maldives. We have development cooperation programme with them, various such programmes are ongoing".

Recently, parliamentary elections were held in the Maldives successfully and India congratulated them for that, Jaiswal said, adding that "we have various exchanges between our countries at the parliamentary level, and we look forward to continuing this historical link of exchanges with the new Majlis in the coming days".