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There is a guilt complex in India that since we are a bigger country we should deal with Pakistan by going down to their level. There is too much eagerness on our part, says K Subrahmanyam, convenor of the National Security Advisory Board in an interview with Times Internet Network.
Q: How do you react to the tone of the letters exchanged by Vajpayee and Musharraf?
A: Vajpayee has been statesmanlike in the tone of his letter, unlike Musharraf. Instead of referring to Kashmir specifically, Musharraf could have used a phrase such as `long-standing differences'. The reference to India's poor relations with its neighbours was completely unwarranted as Pakistan's relations with all its neighbours are worse.
Q: Do you think it was a right move on the part of Prime Minister Vajpayee to invite Gen Musharraf?
A: The move is in our national interest. We have to continue to make such gestures without exaggerated expectations. Thousands of people are killed in Kashmir due to the activities of Pakistan. There is substantial additionality in our defence expenditure due to Pakistan. The days of the Cold War are over. USA is hardly bothered about the security situation in the sub-continent. It is in our national interest to try and improve relations.
Q: Consequent to Rajiv Gandhi's visit to Pakistan in 1989, Benazir Bhutto went hysterical in assailing India. The Kargil incursion was already in progress during Vajapayee's Lahore bus Yatra in 1999. What can we expect from this visit?
A: There is no place in Pakistan for anyone who does not subscribe to the two-nation theory. We cannot ignore this ground situation. There can be no solution if we do not accept this fact. Like most members of the Pakistani military establishment, Musharraf has strong views and prejudices about India. He chose to absent himself from the welcoming ceremony for Vajpayee at Wagah in 1999. Musharraf has proclaimed that he regards the Lahore Declaration signed by Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharief as a lot of `hot air.' He has gone on to say that low-intensity conflict with India will continue even if the Kashmir issue were resolved. He is the first Pakistani ruler to proclaim that it is the duty of all Muslims to support the jihad in Kashmir. There is too much eagerness on the part of India to extend a friendly hand. Both sides have to accept inexorable facts. It is important for India to isolate Pakistan in the international sphere and expose their unreasonable stand on Kashmir. When they say that polls in Kashmir are rigged, we should retaliate by saying that theirs is rigged by the Army and they don't have any democracy to speak of.
Q: Why do you say that there is too much eagerness on the part of India to be friends with Pakistan?
A: It makes Pakistan feel that they are equal to us, that one Pakistani is equal to five Indians. When they talk about Kashmir we don't retaliate by saying, is there any will of the people in Pakistan, at all. Nobody says it, not even the media here. Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Ashraf Jehangir Qazi has been hogging so much media space here. He has been quoted all over the place as saying that elections in Kashmir are rigged. Nobody has turned around to quiz him about elections in Pakistan being rigged by the Army. Has anyone in Pakistan approached the Indian HC in Pakistan for his views.
There has to be a recognition of the fact that the situation has changed in our favour. It needs to be emphasized that it is Pakistan which stands to gain more by improving relations, not India. There is need for more people to people contact. It must be highlighted that it is Pakistan which is hurting Indian Muslims more as they are the one's whose families were divided due to partition.
Q: How do you think India should react to Pakistan's assertion of involving the Hurriyat in official talks?
A: It is a ridiculous demand. India should ask Pakistan to involve Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, Atlaf Husain and others in Pakistan's political spectrum to be involved in the talks.
Q: There is a debate about the kind of reception that should be accorded to Musharraf, given the fact that he is a dictator and not a democratically elected leader?
A: There are suggestions in various quarters that the visit should be declared a purely business visit requiring no protocol. Musharraf can land in India and drive off to the hotel, or wherever he is staying.
In the past, an exception has been
made for General Ershad, when he was President of Bangladesh, although
he was not a democratically elected leader. Normal protocol to heads of
state would involve the foreign minister or the minister of state receiving
Musharraf at the airport followed by a reception at the Rashrapati Bhavan.
We will have to wait and see the course of action taken by the government.
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