‘Indian state’: Pakistan foreign minister concedes disputed Kashmir with unfortunate slip

Oh dear. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi referred to Jammu and Kashmir as an “Indian state” while attending the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday, and Twitter has gone into meltdown.

Speaking to reporters outside the UNHRC’s office in Geneva, Switzerland, Qureshi launched into an attack on India, but his tirade was derailed by a fatal slip of the tongue.

“India is trying to give an impression to the world that life has returned to normalcy. If the life has returned to normalcy, then I say, why don’t they allow you, the international media, why don’t they allow international organisations, NGOs, civil society organizations to go into the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and see for themselves of the realities,” he said, his face noticeably shifting as he realized his mistake.

Pakistan has never previously referred to the state in the contested Kashmir region as “Indian," instead referring to it as “Indian-administered Kashmir,” so the foreign minister’s comments have caused quite a stir.

Indian Twitter users and news outlets leaped on the remark, claiming it was an admission from Islamabad that India controlled the disputed territory. “Finally Truth prevails! Jai Ho,” one commenter wrote, while another added: “Honest Man! Finally Pakistan admits that Kashmir [is] part of India. Thank You Sigmund Freud!”

Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, many Pakistani people are not impressed with the remarks or with the reaction from their neighbors.

“So foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi went to Geneva to surrender or what?” one commenter wrote, accompanying the message with an eye-roll emoji. “One slip of the tongue is enough to satisfy your small egos,” another added.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir since 1947. Tensions between the nuclear neighbors have been close to boiling point since India, weeks ago, revoked a constitutional provision that had granted Jammu and Kashmir autonomy over its internal administration. So, good luck to Foreign Minister Qureshi explaining his comments when he gets back to Islamabad.

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