New Delhi: Amid speculations on the electoral destiny doing the rounds in Pakistan, key political events discover themselves locked in a tense battle because the nation awaits the result of the overall election outcomes. With uncertainty looming over the prospect of a brand new prime minister rising, considerations mount concerning the flexibility of the nation to navigate its ongoing financial and political challenges and restore stability to the nation. At such a time, former Indian diplomat and politician, Mani Shankar Aiyar, expressed a novel perspective on the connection between India and Pakistan, contemplating the individuals of Pakistan as India’s “single largest asset” throughout the nation, Daybreak reported.
Talking throughout a session titled “Hijr Ki Rakh, Visaal Kay Phool” on Indo-Pak affairs on the Faiz Pageant held at Alhamra, Aiyar emphasised the tendency of Pakistanis to reflect the behaviour of their Indian counterparts usually in a really overt means. He famous that Pakistanis usually reply with extreme friendliness or hostility primarily based on India’s actions.
“The Pakistanis, from my expertise, have been the individuals who react maybe overreact to the opposite aspect. If we’re pleasant, they’re overfriendly and if we’re hostile, they recover from hostile,” Daybreak quoted Aiyar as saying.
Reflecting on his experiences, Aiyar recalled being warmly welcomed in Pakistan, significantly throughout his tenure as consul basic in Karachi. He recounted quite a few situations of hospitality and camaraderie, which he documented in his ebook, “Memoirs of a Maverick,” revealing a aspect of Pakistan opposite to Indian perceptions.
Aiyar confused the significance of goodwill between the 2 nations, lamenting the deterioration of relations over the previous decade since PM Narendra Modi’s first authorities got here to energy.
“Goodwill was wanted however as an alternative of goodwill, there had been one thing reverse over the past 10 years for the reason that formation of the primary Narendra Modi authorities,” Daybreak quoted Aiyar as saying.
“All I ask the individuals (of Pakistan) is to do not forget that Modi has by no means acquired greater than one-third of the votes however our system is such that if has one-third of the votes, he has two-thirds within the seats. So two-thirds of Indians are prepared to come back in direction of you (Pakistanis),” the report quoted him as saying.
Citing his buddy Satindar Kumar Lambah, an Indian envoy concerned in back-channel diplomacy, Aiyar highlighted the consensus amongst diplomats that dialogue with Pakistan is important, no matter political variations.
“There have been 5 Indian excessive commissioners who served within the Congress authorities and the BJP authorities in Islamabad and all 5 of them unanimously agreed that no matter are our variations, we should have interaction with Pakistan and the most important mistake that we made within the final 10 years was the refusing dialogue. Now we have the braveness to conduct surgical strikes in opposition to you however we don’t have the braveness to sit down throughout the desk and speak,” Daybreak quoted Aiyar as saying.