Following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tirade against Pakistan at the G20 summit, the Foreign Office of Pakistan hit back on Monday accusing India of financing terrorism in Pakistan, saying it has open evidence of India’s involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan. Modi had singled out Pakistan in a veiled reference at the G20 forum as the “one nation in South Asia spreading terror in the region.” Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that India is in fact that single nation.
Zakaria said that the confessional statement made by the arrested Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing officer Kalbhushan Yadhav had made it clear which country was, in fact, spreading terrorism. He also cited Modi’s Independence Day speech in which he mentioned Balochistan, and said that the issue would be raised at the next United Nations General Assembly session. Furthermore, Zakaria rejected India’s assertion that the UN resolutions on Kashmir were irrelevant. India was violating the UN Charter by adopting this stance, he said. He said the world acknowledges Pakistan’s sacrifices and its contribution in the war against terrorism.
The statements blaming each other have been continuing for the past few months now. The situation had escalated following the unrest in Kashmir. Since then both countries have accused each other of spreading terrorism in the region. While Pakistan had been pursuing aggressive diplomacy in the international arena to highlight Indian atrocities in Kashmir, Indian leaders had resorted to strong condemnation in speeches, especially Prime Minister Modi’s speech on the Indian Independence Day.
The region would continue to suffer if this churlish and very dangerous clash of egos continues to persist. India being the bigger country in the South Asian region should take a comprehensive and problem-solving approach rather than blame everything on Pakistan, which it has been doing for a long time. Moreover, Pakistan should soften its stance as well, and realise that it can no longer play the victim card as the situation in the international arena has brought forward new players and different narratives. Furthermore, both Pakistan and India should realise that there are other countries in South Asia whose development and prosperity are affected by the turmoil in the region that exists primarily because of acrimony between Pakistan and India. A prime example of the situation can be witnessed from the uselessness of the SAARC summit. The summit has rather become irrelevant with the straining of ties between Pakistan and India. Both countries should realise that amid their egoistic stances, other countries in the region are also being affected.
Lastly, Pakistan has said on a number of occasions that it has evidence of Indian involvement in Pakistan, but other than its claims of having presented it to the UN, there is no real indication of that evidence ever being presented to Pakistani people or openly on the UN forum. Pakistan had vowed to present the evidence in last year’s UN General Assembly session as well. Similarly, India cannot continue to accuse Pakistan of the situation in Kashmir. Both the countries will need to concede some ground if they are to achieve that elusive peace necessary for the progress of the region. http://dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/10-Sep-16/pakistan-foreign-office-on-india
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