Kanwal Sibal
@KanwalSibal
Former Indian Foreign Secretary. Indian Ambassador to Turkey, Egypt, France and Russia. Now Chancellor of JNU. Written over 700 op-eds.
Very surprising tweet. After the Pahalgam attack that led to India’s military action against known terrorist hubs in Pakistan, the State Department declaring TRF, an offshoot of LeT, that claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, an international terrorist organisation,…
Met with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister @MIshaqDar50 today to discuss expanding bilateral trade and enhancing collaboration in the critical minerals sector. I also thanked him for Pakistan’s partnership in countering terrorism and preserving regional…
You remarked something very relevant to this discussion, here:
Why can India have a legal argument against Iran going nuclear but not a political argument? (On a lighter side, is there an advantage to us on Iran going nuclear?) Former FS @KanwalSibal remarked at a panel discussion on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme (2013):
There is no soft corner. Question of western double standards. India was sanctioned for years for our nuclear programme. Pakistan was allowed to become a nuclear power by the US both because of the need for its cooperation in combating the Soviets in Afghanistan and to…
I have seen many retired Indian diplomats have a soft corner for Iran! Why is it so? I know Iran has been a good friend For decade due to their Oil export to India on credit, taking payment in rupees etc... Is there any other reason than financial?
This information could be based on what David Albright, founder of the Institute of Science and International Security has also been propagating. He is American but has Israeli citizenship too Scott Ritter, the former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, criticises Albright's…
Iran has 408 kgs of 60% enriched uranium. To enrich to weapons grade (84% is good enough say experts), Iran has 13, 000 unmonitored centrifuges, enough to produce at least one nuclear bomb every 3-4 weeks. Do we already have two undeclared nuclear weapon states in West Asia. ?
Is the LoC violence/ceasefire violation a symptom of the ‘unresolved’ Kashmir issue? Former FS @KanwalSibal answers at a panel discussion moderated by @Bharatitis (2013):
The norms of diplomacy are no longer observed. The US ambassador to Israel has no locus to comment and that too mockingly on the decision by France to recognise the Palestinian State. Most inappropriate on his part. He can repeat if asked the official position of his…
Macron's unilateral "declaration" of a "Palestinian" state didn't say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called "Franc-en-Stine." thehill.com/policy/interna…
A bold step. Taking a leadership role in Europe on the issue . A political blow to Trump and the US.
🚨🇫🇷🇵🇸 BREAKING: French President Macron: “I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine.”
That’s a fair point to make. There is no purity index in this, only personal choice and belief.
I dont want them to eat meat. I only want them to stop their ridiculous assertions of purity.
"Britain has become a safe haven for fugitives and they want to preserve that": Former foreign secretary @KanwalSibal Burzine Waghmar (@Criticastery) responds. #IndiaUKFTA #NewsToday | @SardesaiRajdeep
Why hasn’t there been any reaction from the “Arab Street” to the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict? Former FS @KanwalSibal demystifies this term called as “Arab Street”; puts into perspective the image of the Palestinians among the Arab elite, in a “samvaad” with @MayankNSingh (2025):
"The courts allow his (Vijay Mallya) extradition...it's the govt that stopped the extradition": Former foreign secretary @KanwalSibal #IndiaUKFTA #NewsToday | @SardesaiRajdeep
Delicious irony in this. India’s PM speaks to the UK PM in Hindi and not in English.
Sharing my remarks during meeting with PM @Keir_Starmer.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves were $15.1 b in January 2025. Those of India in June 2025 were $ 698.95 b. Pakistan’s lower debt to GDP ratio compared to India means nothing. India can service its debt but Pakistan needs an IMF bailout and rescheduling of debt by China…
As of FY 2023-24: India’s total government debt-to-GDP ratio was around 83%, higher than Pakistan’s (~75%). States' debts are rising, and interest payments consume nearly 20% of the central government's revenues. Unemployment remains a challenge, especially among the youth.
Why try to sow more and more dissensions in society by actively injecting caste into vegetarianism?
Then say Veg-only. Purity is an assertion of superiority in a casteist society.
It is not normal to keep repeating the same thing.
Trump restates his Indo Pak ceasefire, 5 jet downing claim "We have stopped wars between India and Pakistan. They were probably going to end up in a nuclear war. They shot down five planes in the last attack...I called them and I said no more trade if you do this. They are both…
The Global South won’t be convinced by this line of argument. It has interest in peace in Europe as this is drawing attention away from larger challenges that the international community faces. The West has wielded imperial power for centuries, far more internationally than…
The West is supporting Ukraine for strategic reasons: to deny Russia an imperial sphere; to frustrate its re-emerging imperialism. If Russia would win, its appetite for more military adventures would grow, with devastating consequences for the peace in large parts of Europe.
Playing party politics in a state that is claimed by a neighbour., wounded by years of terrorism, where international politics has intervened against us, where Islamism has changed the complexion of society, where our armed forces are present in large numbers for national…
The people of Jammu & Kashmir deserve full statehood. It is their Constitutional right. We have written to the PM demanding the same. Modi Govt has a consistent policy of betrayal for Jammu & Kashmir. The Pahalgam terror attack is a grim reminder of intelligence failure. We…