Indian media slams 'absurd' Anwar, says unqualified to mediate
Published: May 6, 2025 4:23 PM
Updated: 7:25 PM
Summary
- Firstpost censures Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for saying he “understands Pakistan’s difficulties”.
- The news organisation says Malaysia, like Iran, is not neutral.
A prominent Indian media organisation has taken aim at Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim over his remarks on the growing tensions between India and Pakistan.
Firstpost criticised both Iran and Malaysia for offering to mediate, arguing that neither nation is neutral - and therefore unqualified - to act as peace brokers.
“Same with Malaysia. Their prime minister says he ‘understands Pakistan’s difficulties’. How absurd is that?
“The terror attack happened in India, but Malaysia understands Pakistan’s difficulties… These are not neutral mediators; they have taken Pakistan’s side quite frequently,” said journalist Palki Sharma.
She pointed out that Malaysia does not seem to recognise India’s sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir when Anwar called the region “India-administered Kashmir”.
Sharma also stressed that India does not require mediation, reiterating New Delhi’s longstanding stance that Kashmir is a bilateral issue - one to be resolved exclusively between India and Pakistan.
She also referenced remarks by India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar directed at European nations with regard to Iran and Malaysia.
"When we look out at the world... we look for partners. We don't look for preachers, particularly preachers who don't practise at home what they preach abroad,” Jaishankar had said.
Anwar’s remarks
In a Facebook post yesterday, Anwar said Malaysia remained open to contributing constructively, should the situation call for it.
"We believe our close ties with both Pakistan and India place us in a position to support efforts towards regional peace and stability,” he wrote.
In the same statement, Anwar revealed that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had postponed his scheduled official visit to Malaysia this Friday due to the escalating crisis.
“I expressed my full understanding of the difficult circumstances Pakistan is facing and conveyed Malaysia’s hope that the situation will de-escalate swiftly.
"I strongly condemned any form of violence and affirmed Malaysia’s support for an independent and transparent investigation to identify those responsible,” he added.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have sharply deteriorated following the April 22 terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.
On the domestic front, Anwar’s offer courted ridicule from Urimai chairperson P Ramasamy, who said that while the diplomatic overture might appear noble, it lacked the necessary depth and realism to address such a deeply rooted conflict.
He pointed out that the India-Pakistan issue is not merely a diplomatic disagreement, but one embedded in “complex historical, political and religious dimensions” originating from the traumatic partition of 1947.
Ya, Ya, Anwar is an Islamist extremist wannabe, definitely not qualified to be a neutral mediator.
ReplyDeleteThe Jammu and Kashmir Instrument of Accession is a legal document executed by Maharaja Hari Singh, ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, on 26 October 1947.
ReplyDeleteParties
By executing an Instrument of Accession under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh agreed to accede his state to the Dominion of India.
On 27 October 1947, the then Governor-General of India, Lord Mountbatten accepted the accession. In a letter sent to Maharaja Hari Singh on the same day, he said, "it is my Government's wish that as soon as law and order have been restored in Jammu and Kashmir and her soil cleared of the invader, the question of the State's accession should be settled by a reference to the people."
What happened thereafter was invasion after invasion by tribal militias from Pakistan who simply refuse to accept that they had lost. They refuse to MOVE ON.