Rohingya issue needs realistic approach, says S Jaishankar

New Delhi: Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has said that India’s goal is to see how the Rohingyas could go back to their place of origin, contending that the crisis should be addressed through a realistic approach rather than doing strong condemnation.

He said India had already voiced its concerns over the gravity of the crisis and held “very high level conversations” with Bangladesh and Myanmar. “The fact that there is an exodus of a large number of people from the Rakhine state in Bangladesh is clearly a matter of concern. Our objective will be to see how they can go back to their place of origin. That is not easy,” he said. The foreign secretary was responding to a question on the crisis at an event organised by the Carnegie India here. “We feel that this situation is better addressed through practical measures and constructive conversation rather than doing very strong condemnation. We need a lot more sober, realistic (and) locally sensitive approach,” Mr Jaishankar said.

India has nearly 40,000 Rohingya refugees in the regions of Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan. The Centre has directed the state to set up a task force to identify and deport illegally-staying foreign nationals.