As the general elections in India draw near, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a hard line on Pakistan, saying it would be a huge mistake to believe that Pakistan would mend its ways anytime soon.
“It will take more time for Pakistan to mend its ways,” Modi told India’s ANI news agency in an exclusive interview on New Year’s Day.
“Whether it is surgical strikes or action at other levels, the Indian government is working out various strategies to keep up the pressure on Pakistan to check alleged terrorism,” said Modi in yet another rhetoric to garner support ahead of general elections.
Asked why the alleged cross-border terror has not stopped despite the so-called surgical strikes two years ago, Modi said: “It will be a huge mistake to believe that Pakistan will mend its ways after a war. It will take a lot of time…”
But the Indian government’s release of the so-called surgical strike videos had triggered scathing attacks from the opposition, which contended that the government was using it for political gains.
“I personally believe that surgical strikes should not be politicised,” Modi said about the army attacks on alleged terror launchpads across the Line of Control in September 2016.
“There are some political parties who began to speak the same language as Pakistan. These parties were demeaning our armed forces. They politicised such an issue,” he said.
Interestingly, Pakistan had laughed off the Indian claim of surgical strikes as a figment of India’s imaginations.
Asked about new Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s talk of dialogue between the two nations, Modi said India has had a consistent policy that no Indian prime minister has ever opposed dialogue with Pakistan.
Published in Daily Times, January 2nd 2019
