Pakistan needs to pick ‘pragmatic approach’ over ‘ideological obsession’ for Kashmir: Hussain Haqqani

LONDON-

Pakistan’s former envoy to the United States Hussain Haqqani has said that Pakistan must give up its “ideological obsession” with Kashmir, Indian media reported Wednesday.

“Pakistan needs to have the kind of approach China has over Taiwan. It doesn’t need to give up its claim but it needs to move on other issues first,” said the former diplomat while delivering the lecture ‘Pakistan, Afghanistan and a History of Mistrust’ at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London  on Monday; a day before Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar met with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Chaudhry in Islamabad.

“We need to take a more pragmatic approach rather than making it an ideological obsession,” he added.

Speaking on the Pak-India ties, Haqqani said that while it was good that India and Pakistan are resuming talks,  the fundamentals of the relationship are yet to be addressed, including the issues around 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed which could stumble the peace efforts.

“After initial bonhomie, the Indians will want to know what is happening with the Lakhvi trial; what is happening with Hafiz Saeed; why is Lashkar-e-Taiba still openly operating as Jamaat-ud-Dawa,”  he was quoted saying in the report.

Haqqani,  whose time as ambassador to the US overlapped with the assassination of Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, said that Pakistan “owes an explanation to the world as to why he (Bin Laden) was there (in Abbottabad).”

Haqqani, calling India “an imaginary threat,” said that parity with India is not an attainable objective.

“India’s economy is 10 times larger. It is a kind of psychological and political insecurity that has held Pakistan back. The best strategy would be to focus inward,” he said.

The former Pakistani envoy further said that he believes Indian presence in Afghanistan is based on trade, aid and education ties and it is not necessarily inimical to Pakistan’s interests.