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| Change of guard in Delhi | | Islamabad not comfortable with prospects of NaMo Govt in Delhi | | Neha
JAMMU, Apr 23: The prospect of BJP's PM nominee Narendra Modi assuming power in Delhi after May 16 is keeping the Pakistani leadership and civil society awake in the night. This is what the public discourse in Pakistan suggests. A report which emanated from New Delhi on Tuesday in this regard is very significant as it indicated the nature of discomfort in Pakistan. The report said the "emerging trends in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India are being keenly watched in Pakistan" and that "given the public discourse, experts say, there is a sense of 'discomfort' about the prospects of the government headed by BJP's Narendra Modi". Report was filed by a prominent journalist who holds a very important position.
The report further said: "A telephonic interaction with experts- journalists, opinion makers and social activists- in Pakistan suggests that people there are hopeful that their counterparts in India would elect a government 'that shuns hawkish attitude and delivers on the Indo-Pak front'.
Shafqat Mahmood, PTI correspondent in Islamabad, said: Reports about Modi win are a cause of worry in Pakistan. This is because of Modi's track record and the language he has been using. The obvious question in the minds of Pakistanis is about the future of Indo-Pak relations…There are reports that a section of Pakistan society feels that the right-wing dispensation is the 'best bet' to resolve all pending issues between the two countries. While Mahmood admitted such a school of thought exists, he says it is not a dominant discourse.
Presently people are well informed about developments across the border. This is particularly true in the light of statements being issued by some BJP leaders," he observed. Saima Jaisam, a social activist, said people are skeptical about a right-wing formation coming to power in India. 'But there is a hope that Modi, in the event of coming to power, will not be as lethal as he has been in opposition, she said. 'We mostly rely on what people of India think and do. People in Pakistan hope their counterparts in India will take a right decision,' she observed, admitting existence of 'sense of discomfort' among people 'on account of Modi Government'.
Interestingly, she pointed out that the phenomenon of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had also generated considerable interest in Pakistan. 'But it has gradually died down after the AAP starting faltering, she claimed. Admitting Modi was central to political discussions in Pakistan society, Lahore-based journalist Bilal Ghouri said people feel he is a decisive leader. But, he added: Koyi bhi aaye, awam ke liye behtar hona chahiye (Whosoever comes to power should work for the people's welfare and peace in the region)".
All this shows that the Modi phenomenon has its impact on Pakistan, Pakistani establishment, opinion leaders and civil society members. It also shows that they feel that the Indian foreign policy vis-à-vis nations like Pakistan would be different from that of the Congress-led UPA Government - foreign policy that emboldened Islamabad and other hostile nations - apart from extremists and separatists in the Valley -- and brought bad name to India. Indeed, it is a fact that New Delhi under Narendra Modi would follow a pro-active foreign policy and this became more than evident from the long interview that he gave to ABP News the other day. He on Tuesday denied sending any emissary to meet Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and said he was surprised over media reports in this regard. "I am surprised. Where did it come from?...I do not even know their names...Now it seems it has been clarified by the persons concerned that they were not my representatives," he said on ABP News. He was responding when asked "whether he had taken any initiative to talk to Kashmiri separatists as Geelani had claimed recently that two persons met him on his behalf".
Not only this, with regard to Pakistan, he was asked "whether he would have a 'tough' policy if he becomes the Prime Minister as he has been accusing the UPA government of being weak and his reply was: "We want to run the country in a manner that nobody dares to threaten us. We also will not threaten anybody. The world cannot run by threats or by cowing down to threats. Dialogue should be on equal terms. In the international affairs, you can command respect only through this approach".
This is the difference between what he thinks about Pakistan and how the Congress-led UPA Government handled Islamabad during the past ten years. The discomfort in Pakistan needs to be viewed in this context. |
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