- Those in power will be held responsible for any failure
After Trump’s offer of mediation between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, PM Khan was euphoric. He told his supporters on arrival at Islamabad airport that he felt like having won another world cup. FM Qureshi described the meeting as “a new beginning in the bilateral relations”. Days later Trump took a U-turn saying Pakistan and India can handle the Kashmir dispute themselves.
Early this month Saudi deputy foreign minister and UAE’s Foreign Minister visited Pakistan. They held talks with FM Qureshi, PM Imran Khan and COAS Bajwa. A statement by the ISPR maintained that the two had assured complete support of both their countries “to resolve the situation created by India’s unilateral steps in occupied Kashmir”. The BJP government has taken two unilateral steps i.e., annexation of IOK by revoking Article 370 and locking down the occupied Valley. The perception created by the ISPR statement is that the two foreign ministers supported Pakistan’s stand on both the issues. After a month and a half of the annexation the two governments haven’t said a word of condemnation against India. Are those running the country simply gullible or are they leading the people down the garden path?
The BJP government cannot keep the IOK locked down, with cell phones and internet service blocked for months. Sooner or later it will have to lift the restrictions. The core issue is that of the resolution of Kashmir issue through referendum. Reportedly attempts are afoot to convince Pakistan to accept the annexation as a fait accompli and initiate talks with India on other issues like improvement of relations through trade and investment. Further, that PM Imran Khan is being asked by some of the major powers and a few Muslim countries to stop using strong language about Modi by comparing him with Hitler or calling him a fascist in return for Indian goodwill.
It is time the details of the talks with important countries are brought to the notice of the Parliament. As this is not being done, conspiracy theories are spreading like wildfire in the country. The government is meanwhile providing the opposition a sensitive issue to exploit the public sentiment.