Hafiz Saeed’s anti-India rhetoric in Pakistan shows the strength of the country’s democracy, said Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Monday at an event hosted by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies to discuss the bilateral relationship between India and Pakistan.
Individuals do have views and it shows the strength of our democracy that they can express these.Abdul Basit, Pakistan’s High Commisisoner to India
He said this in response to a question about the anti-India speeches made by 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan soon after mentioning that it would be useful to lower anti-Pakistan rhetoric in India.
When asked by The Quint how these two points reconcile with each other, he said that both sides have strong anti-peace voices that need to be ignored as they make it more difficult to pursue diplomatic means.
He also said that there is consensus in Pakistan for a normalised relationship with India as long as it is on the basis of mutual respect.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’s Troubles
On the issue of the troubled times being faced by India and Pakistan’s cultural ties, the High Commissioner said that he was glad that Karan Johar’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ was now out of mushkil but also pointed out that Pakistan has never tried to snap cultural relations between the two countries.
He said that while Indian artistes have never faced any issues performing in Pakistan, Pakistani artistes like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Atif Aslam’s concerts have been cancelled in India. He added that though Indian television channels have now been banned in Pakistan, up till now the country had been screening Indian TV shows and movies while India had not allowed Pakistani channels.
On Kashmir and Terror
High Commissioner Basit brought up the issue of Kashmir and said that it was the root cause of the troubles between India and Pakistan. By pointing out that the countries’ troubles did not begin with the attacks in Mumbai or Pathankot and that they had fought wars earlier, he presented the argument that Kashmir was the key issue between India and Pakistan and not terrorism. He also said that Kashmiris should have the right to self-determination.
On India’s stance that terror and talks cannot go together, he said that this leaves diplomacy with little room to negotiate. He also said that Pakistan is the biggest victim of terror, which is why it has a zero tolerance approach towards it. In response to this, Ambassador Salman Haidar, India’s former High Commissioner to London, pointed out that Pakistan’s victimisation at the hands of terror is not compensation for India in any way, thus, terrorism is still an issue that needs to addressed.
Ambassador Haidar also hinted at Pakistan’s lack of action against people who India has alleged have committed crimes or acts of terror in the country. He asked whether it was inconceivable that people who’ve committed criminal acts in India and have gone to Pakistan be apprehended. To this, the High Commissioner said that while it wasn’t inconceivable, India would have to provide solid proof for such arrests. Hinting at the case of the 26/11 terrorist Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, he said that Pakistan had put people behind bars but they were released by the country’s courts.
The High Commissioner said that while Pakistan had suggested an international probe into the Uri attack, India wasn’t open to the idea. “In the case of Uri, we didn’t know the situation on the ground but India blamed Pakistan. When this happens, all doors for cooperation are closed,” said the High Commissioner.
He pushed for diplomatic channels to remain open and for the two countries to move from conflict management to conflict resolution. He also called for strict adherence to the confidence building measures that already exist between the two countries. He ended his speech on a hopeful note by saying, “I, as a diplomat, cannot be pessimistic about our relations.”
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