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| Positive Development: BJP, Congress on the same page | | Kashmir is Pakistan's jugular vein, says Gen Sharif | | Neha
JAMMU, May 2: On Thursday, the BJP and the Congress took the same stand on Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan. They did it in the wake of highly provocative statements made by Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Wednesday and Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif on Thursday. On Wednesday, Khan had responded to Narendra Modi's statement of bringing back Dawood Ibrahim from Pakistan, saying that the statement was "irresponsible and shameful" and that "Modi should first decide where Dawood Ibrahim is living and then he should dream of attacking Pakistan". "This provocative and condemnable statement of expected Prime Minister of India and leader of major political party is touching last limit of enmity towards Pakistan," Khan was quoted as saying, adding that "those threatening to launch operations against Pakistan 'should realise that neither is Pakistan a weak country to be afraid of such threats, nor Pakistani nation can be impressed with such irresponsible statements," he had said.
Khan's statements were a response to Narendra Modi having said that "if he is to win the 2014 Indian elections, he will bring back Dawood Ibrahim to India to be tried for the 1993 Mumbai blasts". He had also criticised UPA Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for failing to take the necessary measures to bring Ibrahim to trial. "Did President Obama hold a press conference regarding US Navy Seals' operation in Abbottabad for targeting al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden? … Did he issue any statement or held negotiations with Osama?" Modi had questioned.
And on Thursday, General Sharif brazenly claimed that the dispute over Kashmir was internationally recognized and said that the issue should be resolved in accordance with the wishes of Kashmiris and in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions for lasting peace in the region. He also termed Kashmir a "jugular vein" of Pakistan. He made these outrageous statements or interfered in the internal affairs of India while addressing a ceremony to mark Martyrs' Day at Army headquarters in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.
The statements of Khan and Sharif evoked a very strong reaction not only from the BJP, but also from the Congress. From the Congress side, at least three senior leaders, including Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tiwari and spokesperson Meem Afzal spoke on the issue. All the three described Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India and warned Pakistan that it must refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of India. Tiwari even went to the extent of saying that the only issue which still remains unresolved between the two countries was the political future of POJK and Gilgit-Baltistan. "The entire state was acceded to India by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. In fact, the real issue is that Pakistan is in illegal occupation of large parts of Jammu and Kashmir," he said. Meem Afzal also made almost an identical statement. As for Chidambaram, he said: "we reject this (jugular vein) statement. I don't think any democracy in the world doubts that Kashmir is and will be India's integral part. People's participation in the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir was a testimony to the fact that the state belongs to India. Only a few days ago, people in large numbers participated in the general election in Jammu and Kashmir".
From the BJP side, Ravi Shankar Prasad and MJ Akbar spoke on the issue of great national import. Prasad said:
"This kind of exuberance by Pakistan army chief is totally unacceptable. India knows how to handle its own strategic imperatives. But this is a case of gross interference. In his line, this kind of statement coming is grossly unfair, unwarranted. I condemn on behalf of BJP and surely this time the Foreign Minister with Government of India must take suitable appropriate response in this connection".
Akbar, party's newly-appointed spokesman, said Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India and shall ever remain so. "It is an integral part of India, it shall remain an integral part of India. The present and future of Kashmir is India's concern and not the Pakistan army's concern. General Sharif should concentrate on bringing peace in his own country," he said.
Not only the BJP and the Congress, but the entire electronic media lambasted Khan and Sharif. The manner in which the two national parties and the media responded constitutes a good omen for the future of the country. This should be the approach. It needs to be underlined that the prospect of Modi becoming the Prime Minister after May 16 is keeping the Pakistanis awake in the night. Feeling threatened, the Pakistani establishment, media and the so-called civil society groups have unleashed a no-holds-barred propaganda blitz against Modi creating an impression that the installation of Modi as Prime Minister would be potential threat to the very existence of Pakistan. Indeed, India needs a leader like Modi so that Islamabad and Kashmiri separatists are put in their place. |
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