External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told Parliament today that India had granted docking permission to an Iranian naval vessel at Kochi port on humanitarian grounds, describing the decision as “the right thing to do”.

Dialogue and diplomacy are the only way out of the Middle East crisis, and the government is closely monitoring developments in the region that is home to millions of Indians, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said in Parliament today.

The ‘Miya-Muslims – a derogatory reference to Muslims seen as crossing over illegally from Bangladesh – have long been at the centre of political debates in the state.