Opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah today condemned the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital by US President Donald Trump, saying it was unfair, unjust and oblivious to historical facts and the goal of reconciliation and peace in the Middle East.
Trump's announcement was in contradiction to history and the sentiments of millions of Muslims across the world, including in India, he said in a statement.
At a time when the world was grappling with instability and hostility, especially in the Middle East, an arbitrary announcement of this nature was fraught with the risk of alienating people and adding to the widespread sense of injustice, the former Union minister added.
He said the move had hurt the sentiments of Muslims all over the world and made the goals of cooperation and stability farther and harder to achieve.
The Srinagar MP, while strongly condemning the announcement, said the global community was obligated to deliver justice to the people of Palestine and that no responsible power should take any step which would hurt the sentiments centered around historical disputes.
The Government of India was also obligated to strongly and unambiguously oppose the move, in line with the country's historical foreign policy stand, which was committed to the people of Palestine in their quest for justice and peaceful existence and also pivoted on the policy of non-alignment and objectivity, he said.
The condemnation from the Centre should be unequivocal and India should take a stand in consonance with its values and its place in the comity of nations, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Stating that India had traditionally and consistently supported the cause of the Palestinian people, Abdullah said the foreign policy of the country had always noted East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
"A failure of the (Narendra) Modi government to strongly reiterate this commitment and stand would be a great disservice to our country's independent foreign policy goals and our commitments at the global stage," he said.
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