Qureshi walks out as Indian counterpart Jaishankar speaks in New York

NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday boycotted the speech of his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, when the latter came to the stage in New York to speak.

FM Qureshi said his decision to walk out as Jaishankar took the stage during an annual meeting of the SAARC Council of Ministers was related to India's ongoing aggression and violence in occupied Kashmir and a curfew in the Muslim-majority valley going on since August 5.

India needed to ensure the protection of all Kashmiris' human rights, the foreign minister told media in New York. They have to make sure that the Kashmiri folks' basic rights were safe, he added.

Qureshi added that New Delhi should also ensure that there were no human rights violations in the occupied valley. "It is impossible for me to sit with the murderers of the Kashmiris," he said.

FM Qureshi had decided to walk out of Jaishankar's speech shortly before his Indian counterpart walked up to the stage.