News Analysis |
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that his remarks at the 100-day performance ceremony of the PTI government were misrepresented by the Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. “Dragging my comment towards “Sikh sentiments” is a deliberate attempt to misrepresent & mislead.
What I said was strict with ref to bilateral interaction with the Indian Govt. We have deep respect for Sikh sentiments & no amount of distortions or controversies would change it”, he said in the second of his two tweets on Sunday.
Dragging my comment towards "Sikh sentiments" is a deliberate attempt to misrepresent & mislead. What I said was strictly with ref to bilat.interaction with the Indian Govt. We have deep respect for Sikh sentiments & no amount of distortions or controversies would change it. 1/2
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) December 2, 2018
In deference to the long-standing desires of our Sikh brethren, we decided to open the Kartarpur Corridor. We have taken this historic initiative in good faith and will carry it forward in good faith. 2/2
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) December 2, 2018
Earlier, during his address at the 100 days ceremony, he stated that the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor was the “googly” which the PTI government has bowled to India.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi has used the right term to describe the Indian conundrum as the other side has always projected that it is Pakistan who does not want peace in the region.
The reference to ‘googly’, a cricketing term where the legs spinner’s ball swings the other way after pitching and becomes difficult to read for the batsman, was made purely to put in perspective the dilemma India government has faced after the decision of Kartarpur Corridor.
The step has been applauded well by media from both sides of the border, and the overall world in general also received an endorsement from the U.S state department. But it appears that the remarks of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were deliberately taken out of context to stir a controversy when Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted, “Mr. Foreign Minister of Pakistan – Your ‘googly’ remarks in a dramatic manner has exposed none but YOU. This shows that you have no respect for Sikh sentiments. You only play ‘googlies’.
Mr.Foreign Minister of Pakistan – Your 'googly' remarks in a dramatic manner has exposed none but YOU. This shows that you have no respect for Sikh sentiments. You only play 'googlies'. /1
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) December 1, 2018
Cold Indian Response
The decision of PTI government to open the Kartarpur Corridor for the Sikhs of India was hailed for its potential as the icebreaker between both the countries. The corridor will connect Dera Baba Nanak in Indian Punjab’s Gurdaspur to Kartarpur in Pakistan’s Narowal district where the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the shrine of revered saint Baba Guru Nanak, is situated.
Read more: Small men occupying big offices: Is this new for India? –…
Pakistan invited Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chief Minister of Indian Punjab Amarinder Singh along with dozens of Indian journalists to attend the landmark ceremony. Both the officer bearers excused their presence; however, the ceremony was attended by India’s Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, both Sikhs by faith.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi has used the right term to describe the Indian conundrum as the other side has always projected that it is Pakistan who does not want peace in the region. The broad step toward peace-building and inviting India to proceed from there, made India face the tough choice.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that his remarks at the 100-day performance ceremony of the PTI government were misrepresented by the Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.
If India would have taken the opportunity for the meaningful dialogue for the peace in the region, it would have been beneficial for both the countries in the long-term. Contrary to that, the choice India made, resorting to the terrorism allegations once again to shy away from the substantial peace-building discourse exposed the vested Indian motives to keep the turmoil prevailing in South Asia.
It has been established repeatedly that Indian is involved in harboring the anti- Pakistan elements and using them to spread unrest in the country. The confessional statements of captured Indian Spy Kulbhushan Yadav are the final nail to the coffin. But despite the facts, Pakistan extended the hand for the peace, which was also done repeatedly in the past, and once again India backed out.
Read more: “Pakistan is an Islamic welfare state”: FM responds to Indian Army…
The attempts on part of Sushma Swaraj to create a controversy out the statement which was aimed at the diplomatic enigma of India was to pull down the exponentially increasing popularity of Pakistan and the current government in India, especially among the Sikh community. But it seems that the impact Kartarpur Corridor has had is way far stretched to be barged down via such tactics.