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| Krishna praises 'Benedict Arnold' | | Kashmir & Foreign Policy | | Rustam
JAMMU, July 27: Foreign Minister SM Krishna, who has let down India umpteen times at various international forums, was in Srinagar yesterday. He visited Srinagar to inaugurate Passport Sewa Kendra at Boulevard, electronically inaugurate Jammu Passport Sewa Kendra and lay foundation stone of Passport Bhawan, Srinagar. The function was organized at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). Speaking on the occasion, Krishna praised Pakistan and said that he was looking forward for his visit to Pakistan in September. He also recalled Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's visit to New Delhi last year and said that "she was candid and quite frank" and that "Rabbani conveyed her desire of change of mindset of Pakistan towards its relation with India". "Since then every step either Pakistan or India took has been to the tune of kind of sentiments Pakistani Foreign Minister expressed", he also said. The visiting Foreign Minister, in addition, did not forget to mention what he termed as the "cordial meeting" between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari at New Delhi when the latter visited Ajmer. He claimed that "invitation of Zardari to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was touching" and added that "some day Prime Minister will visit Pakistan as he has never been to his birth place".
What were the upshots of Krishna's argument? Khar visited New Delhi; she was very candid; she talked about the change of mindset of Pakistan towards India; Zardari's invitation was touching; Manmohan Singh will visit Pakistan; and it is the consistent policy of India to engage Pakistan. The most striking upshot, of course, was: "Since then (the last year's meeting between Khar and Krishna) every step either Pakistan or India took has been to the tune of kind of sentiments Pakistani Foreign Minister expressed". This has to taken a serious note of, as it establishes that it is Pakistan which is determining the Indian foreign policy as far as the bilateral issues between the two countries are concerned.
Those who know something about what transpired in New Delhi during the last year's meeting between two Foreign Ministers know for sure that it was Khar who had held her ground firmly and did not concede anything. What she said then she says it today: Pakistan was not involved in the 26/11 Mumbai carnage; Kashmir is the core issue; Siachen and Sir Creek need to be resolved to the satisfaction of Pakistan; stop "human rights violations" in Kashmir; Pakistan, like India, is also a victim of terrorism. And, still Krishna has the temerity of praising Pakistan, which is being denounced in the United State as "Benedict Arnold".
Who was Benedict Arnold and what did a top Republican lawmaker Ted Poe, who is also a member of House of Foreign Affairs Committee, say in the American House of Representatives about Pakistan a week ago while demanding a drastic cut in military aid to Pakistan? Benedict Arnold is condemned in the United States as the "most well-known traitor in American history". Arnold, it needs to be noted, was an American General who had defected to the British side during the Revolutionary War. As for Pakistan, Poe said: "Pakistan is the 'Benedict Arnold' to America in the war on terror. They are disloyal, deceptive and a danger to the United States. This so-called ally continues to take billions in US aid, while funding the militants who attack us. And we've kept the money flowing. It's time we turn off the tap. By continuing to provide aid to Pakistan, we are funding the enemy, endangering Americans and undermining our efforts in the region. We don't need to pay them to betray us; they are already doing it for free." The intervention of Poe carried conviction with the House of Representatives, which drastically cut military aid to Pakistan. The Senate will take final decision.
The majority view in India is no different from that of Poe. And, yet Krishna not only praises Pakistan, but also says India has to maintain cordial relations with Pakistan at whatever cost. It is indeed unfortunate. Vajpayee had done the same in Srinagar in 2003. |
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