Interior minister says India’s admission to terrorism shows its intent to destabilise Pak, keep region underdeveloped
Pakistan on Tuesday strongly responded to the media tirade being launched by its archrival, India, towards the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan asking the world powers to now “recognise the true face of India” which he claimed was “afraid of the development of people of the region”.
“The India’s reaction and outburst on CPEC project has exposed its real face before the world. It’s a clear proof that the current Indian leadership is not happy to see Pakistan prosper and finds our progress and development unacceptable,” said the minister.
Apparently, this is the strongest statement made by a cabinet minister of Pakistan to counter a volley of strong statements made by Indian ministers during the past few days.
Indian External Affairs Minister Shusma Swaraj said on Monday that Indian Premier Modi had told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the CPEC was “unacceptable” for India as its route passed through “Pakistan Occupied Kashmir” – a reference made by Indians towards Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Pakistan’s response, however, was lukewarm initially as Prime Minister’s Special Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz made a counter statement which was seen as “weak” by many in the civil and military establishment circles.
Reportedly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the man believed to be very close to the Army General Headquarters, was asked by the Establishment to counter the Indian offensive. Normally, in diplomatic terms, it’s the Foreign Ministry which deals with such matters and it’s a rare occasion for an interior minister to make a statement on foreign policy matters.
“Coupled with the recent statement of the defence minister of India which blatantly and unashamedly accepted responsibility for terrorism in Pakistan, this recent statement of intent by the Indian prime minister clearly shows India’s intentions not only to destabilise and hegemonise Pakistan but also to use any means at its disposal to keep Pakistan backward and underdeveloped,” said the interior minister.
“Let this statement be an eye-opener for all those world powers who never tire praising India for its democratic credentials. Let the Indian leadership hear loud and clear that Pakistan’s quest for peace must not be misunderstood for weakness,” said Nisar.
The minister also down played the impression of a discord between the civilian and military leadership over the CPEC issue, stating that the people of Pakistan and entire political and military leadership are united to fight, frustrate and defeat all themes of terrorism from wherever they are generated.
“The country is all united as one to carry forward the CPEC to its logical conclusion irrespective of all scheming and conspiracies of our enemies,” he added.
Moreover, the interior minister said that CPEC is a manifestation of the commitment of the leadership of both China and Pakistan to work together for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries and socio-economic betterment of the region.
“The opposition (by India) to the (CPEC) project is in fact opposition to the brighter future of the region which would be confronted with an iron will and traditional bonds of friendship, trust and commonality of interest being enjoyed by the people of Pakistan and China.”
“Instead of raising unnecessary and uncalled for objections to this vital project, the Indian leadership should focus on ameliorating the plight of their own people and extricating them from generational traps of abject poverty, hunger, disease and socio-economic backwardness,” said the interior minister.
Commenting on the situation, noted defence affairs analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi said it was not a secret that India was opposed to any project which could usher in development of the people of Pakistan.
“But given threats to the CPEC, the question is for the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his government to respond whether they have capability and commitment to get this project implemented. Can Pakistan secure the CPEC projects from terrorist attacks? This is the real question,” he added.
He said Indian government had also objected to the construction of Karakorum Highway decades ago by the Chinese engineers but Pakistan had rejected their objection.
“We need to see if Sharif has guts and commitment not only to reject Indian objections over the CPEC but also to thwart enemy’s designs of countering the CPEC by mounting terrorist attacks against the CPEC projects,” he observed.
