Shah Zain
Pakistan’s foreign minister is giving long interviews to the world media these days. He tries to build the impression that his country wants to improve ties with India, but the Narendra Modi regime is not responding. The Pakistan FM also made some objectionable remarks on Indian minorities and the Kashmir issue. But the poor chap should know that India has moved much ahead of Pakistan in every sphere. His childish rantings mean nothing to us in India or the world at large. India has repeatedly made its stance clear that terror and talks can’t go together.
Clear Message By Home Minister At Baramulla Rally
The same was reiterated by our Home Minister Amit Shah at a mega rally in Baramulla, held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370. Shah said Pakistan is fomenting terrorism and ruled out any talks with it. He said if he has to talk, he will talk to the youth and the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Some people are giving me suggestions that I should talk to Pakistan. Those who have ruled here for seventy years are giving me suggestions,” Mr. Shah told the rally. “But I am clear. I don’t want to talk to Pakistan. I would talk to the Gujjars and Paharis of Baramulla. I will talk to the youth of Kashmir. They (Pakistan) have spread terrorism here. What good have they done for Kashmir,” said Shah amid thunderous applause from the people at the rally?
Srinivas Gotru, India’s Joint Secretary of UNES (UN Economic and Social) also hit back at Pakistan while speaking at the UN High-Level Meeting on the Rights of Minorities recently, saying “It is ironic that Pakistan is speaking about the rights of minorities. For a country that has even stopped publishing its data on minorities to hide its same shameful record, it is amazing that they have even brought up this subject. It has a long history of having committed a grievous violation of minority rights that the world has ever seen.” He said that Pakistan continues to commit grave violations of the rights of Sikh, Hindu, Christian, and Ahmadi communities, and thousands of women and children from minority communities have been subjected to abductions, forced marriages, and conversions in Pakistan.
It is clear that Pakistan is living in a fool’s paradise. And the time has gone when it could hoodwink people around through its ‘napaak’ intentions. Also, the approval of Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertion by the people of Kashmir should be a clear reminder to the people at the helm in Pakistan, both in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, that they cannot misguide Kashmiris for long. Because the people of Kashmir have now realized that their future lies safe with India, and what the Narendra Modi government is doing in J&K is being done for the overall welfare of the people. No other country has any locus standi to talk about Kashmir or misguide its people.
Pakistan Should Look Inwards
It is high time for the Pakistani government to look inwards and do some introspection. A country that survives on foreign aid, is overburdened by loans from China, facing an acute financial crisis, and adopts terrorism as a state policy should realize that it is not going to last for long. India is no longer going to tolerate Pakistan’s terrorism. Our country has the capability and capacity to hit back where it hurts. Home Minister Amit Shah also made it clear that India will no longer tolerate Pakistan terrorism and said that security agencies have been given clear direction to deal firmly with terrorists, terror sympathizers, and the overall terror ecosystem. So for its own survival and for the overall peace in the region, Pakistan has to shun terrorism as a state policy and immediately close all terror sanctuaries on its soil.
We Know How Pakistani Passport Holders Are Treated
India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has seen its status getting up and up on the world stage. The Indian passport is valued much at the international level while Pakistanis have to face difficult situations at every airport. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar also expressed the same sentiments while addressing an event named “Rising India and the World: Foreign Policy in Modi Era” in Gujarat. He compared India’s IT (Information Technology) industry to the “neighboring” country’s expertise in “International Terrorism”. This is true because Pakistan is definitely known as an “expert in International Terrorism”.
“No other country practices terrorism in the manner which Pakistan has done. You show me anywhere in the world what Pakistan has done for so many years against India. After the 26/11 Mumbai attack, it is important for us to be clear to ourselves that this kind of behavior and action is unacceptable and there will be consequences,” said Dr. Jaishankar, during the event.
The External Affairs Minister also noted how the world’s understanding of terrorism has also changed and it is not tolerated anymore, “Earlier, other countries used to ignore this issue thinking it would not affect them because it was happening somewhere else. Today, there is pressure on those who support terrorism. This is an example of our diplomacy.”
Time For the US To Be Tough On Pakistan
The United States of America should also act tough against Pakistan. The time has come to declare Pakistan a terror state. One, all internationally recognized terrorists get asylum in Pakistan. Two, it plays a double game with both USA and other western powers on the terrorism front.
The United States has de-hyphenated its India and Pakistan ties. This De-hyphenation has largely benefited India because it’s allowed the United States to expand ties while avoiding tricky issues with Pakistan, such as Kashmir. Pakistan has long sought the same treatment from the United States as India. But with Washington and New Delhi strengthening their relationship dramatically in recent years, Islamabad now recognizes that close ties with the US is an unrealistic goal. In recent years, the United States and Pakistan have scaled down their security relations. U.S. security aid to Pakistan has been frozen since 2018.
The White House approved a proposed sale of $450 million worth of military equipment to Pakistan recently to help it refurbish its existing F-16 fighter jet fleet, which the United States says is essential for counterterrorism. Why the deal went through now while security aid remains frozen is unclear. But given the transactional nature of U.S.-Pakistan relations, a security quid pro quo was likely at play.
India lambasted the deal. During a public engagement with the Indian American community in Washington recently, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said the deal implies that Pakistan sees its F-16s as a potential weapon against India. But he also criticized Washington’s broader relationship with Islamabad—resorting to an Indian version of hyphenating its relationship with the United States. “It’s a relationship that has neither ended up serving Pakistan well nor serving American interests,” Jaishankar said.
The US should avoid any move that can encourage Pakistan in any way, and keep a tight vigil on this rogue country on India’s border for the overall peace in the region.
