Modi's Message to Pakistan at SAARC

[mehboobkz]

Yea but 2/3 of them are poor

Pakistan is more poor than India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan.

 

[Reem]

He is presenting his views and he is not an ordinary Indian as you claimed him to be.

He may be an extraordinary man but there is nothing extraordinary about this write up, it is a typical Indian rant from Pakistani perspective, calling Indians peace lovers and Pakistanis malign.

There was a hint there of his willingness to move out of those shadows. But it will require the malign men in khaki at GHQ Rawalpindi to have the courage to take the hint.

Instead of hinting, is welcomed to resume bilateral talks, Indians can initiate what they cancelled, and should persevere and maintain momentum if they are this sincere.

 

[D-WARRIOR]

Pakistanis cannot be bought though,,no matter how much money u throw around.

india follows the same steps as US(9/11) does kill ur own and blame others only to start a conflict....

 

[he-man]

india follows the same steps as US(9/11) does kill ur own and blame others only to start a conflict....

Yes,correct.

 

[jaunty]

He may be an extraordinary man but there is nothing extraordinary about this write up, it is a typical Indian rant from Pakistani perspective, calling Indians peace lovers and Pakistanis malign.

That is your opinion and I would expect a Pakistani to have it but what he wrote makes a lot of sense to many of us.

 

[Capt.Popeye]

Not really. He is a current MP, a former minister, former UN Deputy Secretary General, an excellent speaker and a well known scholar, someone who completed his PhD at the age of 22 from The Fletcher School at Tufts. He is the exact opposite of "ordinary".

Hey you are just talking to a guy who is only used to mediocrity and "ornery critters", to use an expression; get it?

 

[ito]

Nothing new. An ordinary Indian ranting endlessly about Pakistan while presenting Indians as the innocent victims.

He is not ordinary. He missed being UN secretary general by a whisker.

 

[fatman17]

Shashi Tharoor

• 
  
  (Dr. Shashi Tharoor is a two-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, the former Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Human Resource Development and the former UN Under-Secretary-General. He has written 14 books, including, most recently, Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century.)
  As expected, there was no Modi-Nawaz bilateral meeting at the SAARC summit in Katmandu. Indeed, in his speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sparing in his references to Pakistan. After perfunctorily mentioning that "bus and train sustain contacts between people in India and Pakistan", he didn't name our western neighbour at all. Instead, he went on to recall the sombre anniversary of 26/11: "as we remember the horror of the terror attack in Mumbai in 2008, we feel the endless pain of lost lives. Let us work together to fulfill the pledge we have taken to combat terrorism and trans-national crimes." It was a reminder of the prism through which we are condemned to see our terrorism-spawning neighbour.
  
  Yet, Pakistani civilian leaders ritually speak of their commitment to peace, and India wearily resumes its pursuit of dialogue with Islamabad, all the while conscious that the elected leaders it is speaking to are not the ones who are really calling the shots in that country. The Pakistani Army, whose very raison d'etre (and disproportionate share of national resources) depends on sustained hostility to India, are the real rulers of Pakistan. If the nominal government crosses the military's red lines in its approach to India, they will be quickly hauled back, if not actually overthrown.
  
  This lends a somewhat surreal quality to India's relations with Pakistan. Agreements are concluded with authorities who do not themselves possess the power to implement what they have undertaken.
  
  The classic example of this was the agreement to set up a Joint Working Group on Terrorism. It did not produce a single shred of useful information, simply because Pakistani intelligence refused to provide any of it to Pakistani officials to share with their Indian counterparts.
  
  India sees progress in the investigations and trial of seven Pakistanis accused of involvement in the Mumbai terror attack case in Islamabad's Anti-Terrorism Court as an important marker of Pakistan's commitment to combat terrorism emanating from its soil. But the case has moved at a glacial pace. The trial has been subject to repeated adjournments, non-appearances of lawyers, vacation of judges and frequent changes of prosecution lawyers. The principal accused, Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi, enjoys a comfortable life in prison, equipped with numerous cell phones from which he commands his followers; he has even fathered a child during his incarceration (there are officially no conjugal rights for prisoners in Pakistan). The principal conspirator, Hafeez Sayeed, roams freely around the country, making incendiary, hate-filled speeches against India, while the government bleats that he has no case to answer. India keeps insisting that Pakistan must show tangible movement in bringing all those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks, including those under trial, to justice quickly, but it has no answer to Islamabad's willful disregard of this requirement.
  
  Continued terrorism from Pakistan and areas under its control remains a core concern for India. It is critical for India - and also for the security of the region - that Pakistan shows determined action to dismantle all terrorist networks, organisations and infrastructure within its own territory. Pakistan must also uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control, which is the most important confidence building measure between the two countries. This includes ending unprovoked firing on our posts, and ending repeated transgressions of the LoC by the Pakistan Army, which have adverse consequences for our bilateral ties.
  
  We do not accept the argument that the transgressions across the LoC or incidents of unprovoked firing are the handiwork of non-state actors. Everything along the LOC is firmly under the control of the armies on both sides.
  
  Yet, despite these continuous provocations, India's government remains committed to peace. We do so not because of any external compulsion or internal weakness, but because it is in our history, our culture and in our embrace of a constitutional, pluralist, democratic system of governance to do so.
  
  The unscrupulous and unrestricted use of violence is not an instrument of state policy in India, as it seems to be in Pakistan. A tit-for-tat policy, as advocated by the more short-sighted and hot-headed elements in our society, neither serves our long-term national interests nor attains the more immediate and urgent objective of stopping terror attacks. Resilience, vigilance and patience - these are the vital ingredients in any successful democratic response to cross border and home grown terror.
  
  As I said to collegians at a speech in Mumbai on 26/11 last year: "Those who dream of bleeding India dry through a thousand cuts will drown in their own hatred, before our great nation runs out of either blood or spirit."
  
  Yes, friendship with Pakistan is possible. But friendship has to be built on a shared perception of the danger of terrorism to both states - of a sincere acceptance by the Pakistani military establishment that those who attacked the Taj in Mumbai are just as much their enemies as those bombing the Marriott in Islamabad. This would require more than fuzzy words from civilian politicians - it needs genuine cooperation from all Pakistani authorities, including the military, including useful information-sharing and real action to arrest, prosecute and punish the perpetrators. This has not been forthcoming, and there is some doubt whether it will ever be.
  
  Terrorism is, after all, an assault on the common bonds of humanity and civility that tie us all together. Our commitment to democracy should make us stronger in the face of terror and we should not relent till this scourge is extinguished effectively. At the international level, our advocacy of a Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism is a worthy pursuit in this direction.
  
  At the same time, I believe strongly that we must work to create a SAARC region in which Indians can prosper in safety and security, a South Asia in which a transformed India can play a worthy part.
  
  The Prime Minister seemed to recognize in his SAARC speech that being stuck in an indefinite narrative of hostility does us all a disservice. SAARC, he said, has "failed to move with the speed that our people expect and want. ...[Is] it because we are stuck behind the walls of our differences and hesitant to move out of the shadows of the past?"
  
  There was a hint there of his willingness to move out of those shadows. But it will require the malign men in khaki at GHQ Rawalpindi to have the courage to take the hint.
  
  Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
  Story First Published: November 27, 2014 19:35 IST
  Modi's Message to Pakistan at SAARC
  @Horus @Oscar @Arsalan @GURU DUTT @nair @he-man @OrionHunter

Shak'in in my boots here Boss!!!

 

[OrionHunter]

A tit-for-tat policy, as advocated by the more short-sighted and hot-headed elements in our society, neither serves our long-term national interests nor attains the more immediate and urgent objective of stopping terror attacks.

Nonsense! I ain't short-sighted and hot-headed but pragmatic!

As the saying goes: Do unto your neighbors what they do unto you! It's easier bleeding Pakistan than India with a thousand cuts. India is 7 times bigger and these 'cuts' amount to just pin pricks.

 

[Green Arrow]

Another article about Pakistan. Too much obsessions from across the border

 

[invinciblesgunner]

Talk is cheap, and this guy does too much of it

 

[jeypore]

Shak'in in my boots here Boss!!!

quite shocking emotions from you Mr. Fatman, In fact I believe, he is behind murder of his wife.... But that's another story....

 

[SrNair]

Nothing new. An ordinary Indian ranting endlessly about Pakistan while presenting Indians as the innocent victims.

He is not an ordinary Indian.Forget his service in Indian politics .He was a former UN Under Secreatary General .He has enough world experience than all of us.

 

[jeypore]

Another article about Pakistan. Too much obsessions from across the border

I have heard this sentence lot "Indians are obsessed about Pakistan", I think the true picture is Pakistanis will not let India go. If you leave India alone, answer to your question of Indians obsessed will be answered fairly well.... They will actually leave you alone!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sathya]

Yea but 2/3 of them are poor

Poor means less blood ?