Mumbai – India faces yet another diplomatic embarrassment over OccupiedKashmir lockdown from the Swedish King Carl Gustaf.
He has said that his country has been acting as an observer in occupiedKashmir for the past several years and will continue to do so.
The king made the remarks while talking to a group of journalists in theIndian city of Mumbai. The statement came in response to questions aboutSweden acting as mediator to resolve the decades-long issue.
The comments by the king follow similar remarks made by Swedish foreignministry on the eve of the king’s visit to India, calling for the liftingof curfew and the restoration of communications.
“We can say we have people from Sweden, trying to be observers in theseareas in Kashmir for many many years. In that sense, we are trying to be anobserver if possible,” King Gustaf said.
The king also noted that the mandate of United Nations Military ObserversGroup in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), of which Sweden was a part, was tooconstrained for an in-depth analysis of the situation.
Asked if any offer for mediation by Sweden to resolve the Kashmir disputewas discussed when he met the Indian leadership in Delhi, he declined toanswer, citing a policy of not commenting on political issues.
It is to mention here that Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Ann Linde, in heraddress in Riksdag or the Swedish Parliament last week said “We emphasisethe importance of respect for human rights, that an escalation of thesituation in Kashmir is avoided and that a long-term political solution tothe situation must involve Kashmir’s inhabitants.”
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“Dialogue between India and Pakistan is crucial,” she added.
The Swedish king and his wife are on a five-day visit to India. The royalcouple met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Governor BSKoshyari.
He termed his visit as ‘interesting’ so far, and added that there is a lotof scope for India and Sweden to work together.
King Carl Gustaf met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union finance ministerNirmala Sitharaman and representatives of the industry in Delhi.
Climate change is a very important issue for his country, he said, addingthat solutions can be ‘difficult’ politically, and it would be good ifspecific industries worked on improving their functioning to makethemselves more sustainable.
Queen Silvia, his wife, spoke about the Royal couple’s visit to the Versovaseafront Wednesday morning where they took part in a beach clean-upinitiative. “It was fascinating because we have only seen photographs ofplastic and the sea. Now we could see what the sea does to plastic,” shesaid.
