Senior Congress party leader Anil Kumar Shastri on Saturday said that the Pakistanis were a most hospitable nation and they had to end misconceptions in India about Pakistan.
Anil Kumar Shastri called on Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) Sindh chapter president Haleem Adil Sheikh at his residence and said: “We have to work to end misunderstandings between the people of Pakistan and India.” He said some people in Pakistan asked him, “If they visit India, will they face problems? But I said no they (Indians) too are loving and hospitable like the Pakistanis.”
He said: “I am the son of an honest politician Lal Bahadur Shastri. Before visiting Pakistan, I had asked my friends that can I visit Karachi alone. Can I live along with my wife in some hotel of Karachi? Can I display Indian flag on my coat?” but, he said, he was advised by friends in India to be careful during his visit to Pakistan. He said, however, on his visit to Pakistan he felt that he received a lot of respect as the son of Lal Bahadur Shastri, as a leader of Congress party, and as an Indian citizen. He said all my misconception about Pakistan and Pakistani had been clarified and that he had found the people of Pakistan loving, respecting and hospitable.
Anil Kumar said the BJP had befooled the Indian people. “The BJP had told a lie with the people of India that they would transfer Rs 1.5 million to the account of every Indian citizen.” He said due to this lie the BJP faced a shameful defeat in the elections of Delhi in February. He said this party was also defeated in the province of Behar. He said now the BJP had to think to work for the progress and prosperity of Indians which was the only way to run their government. He said they could not rule by pitching one brother against another. He said only their politicians had negative thinking but not their people. He said the negative activities of the people of Shiv Sena were limited to a handful of people as majority of the Indians did not support them.
Haleem Adil Sheikh on the occasion said that they welcomed Anil Shastri on his four day private visit to Pakistan. He said they had always proved that Pakistan was the best neighbour and a hospitable nation. He said what happened with Kasuri and Shaharyar Khan in India was just sad. He said this happened because there was a difference between the India of Gandhi and the India of Modi. He said: “We need brotherhood of the Gandhi era. We want that the political tension between the two countries is ended. The people of both countries want to meet one another. The governments of both the countries should take steps to improve people-to-people relations between both the nations.”
On the occasion, Haleem Adil Sheikh presented Ajrak to the guest. Many senior journalists and intellectuals were also present.
