Here it is modified to reflect the dateline continuity.
Pakistan reacted on expected lines on India's snub to the US
on its offer to mediate between India and Pakistan. According to a recent Dunya
News report, Pakistan Foreign Office reacted saying that the Indian stand once
again proves India's 'weak' position on the Kashmir issue.
According to the report, Nafees Zakaria, spokesperson of the
Pakistan Foreign Office said that 'the behaviour of the neighbourly state was
disappointing, adding that the weak position of India compelled it to quit
Kashmir talks'. “Whenever the United States or any other global power asked to
mediate the talks, India backed away,” the report quoted him saying. He added to
his statement the favourite Pakistani rant of India sponsoring terrorism in
Pakistan to it.
Nikki Haley, the Indian origin United States Ambassador the
United Nations, had created a storm by saying that the Donald Trump
administration was concerned about tension between India and Pakistan and would
not wait for something to happen to intervene. She said that the US might offer
to mediate between India and Pakistan to 'de-escalate' tension and that even
President Donald Trump might come forward to play an active role.
India readily dismissed Nikki Haley's offer saying it was
India's official position that the Kashmir issue could only be resolved through
bilateral efforts and the ball was in Pakistan's court to resume the dialogue
process. It has been India's demand, especially after the Pathankot airbase
attack by Pakistan based JeM terrorists in January 2016, that terror and talks
cannot go together and to resume the dialogue, Pakistan should stop sponsoring
terror in India.
India's official response was brief and specific,
"Government's position for bilateral redressal of all India-Pakistan
issues in an environment free of terror and violence hasn't changed. We of
course expect international community and organisations to enforce
international mechanisms and mandates concerning terrorism emanating from
Pakistan, which continues to be the single biggest threat to peace and
stability in our region and beyond."
Also, experts dismissed Nikki Haley's offer saying it might
not represent the official US position on the issue. Subsequent US
administrations have kept the Indian sensitivity in mind and have desisted from
offering direct mediation between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir
issue.
In fact, during his campaign days, Trump had indicated that
he would seek Indian help to keep 'unstable Pakistan's nukes' in check. He had
also said that Pakistan had double dealt the US in spite of receiving huge aid
from the US. He reiterated his stand on Pakistan even after he won the US polls
when he tweeted to slam Pakistan in December, "Get it straight: Pakistan
is not our friend."
Pakistan’s ruling establishment, in fact, survives on
anti-India propaganda. Pakistan has no serious standing in the world. For many
in the world community, it is just another country. For major global powers of
the free world, it is a country with ‘unstable nukes’ as US President Donald
Trump says or it is country with countless terror havens, as the world
community generally believes.
So, there is immense international pressure, in spite of
Pakistan’s big brother China’s backing, an autocratic economic and military
giant. To counter this pressure, the Pakistani power elite does what it has
been doing - drawing its sanctity back home from anti-India propaganda. The
Pakistani power elite has created a fallacy in the country that India is
Pakistan’s sworn enemy and they want its populace to remain trapped in that
fallacy and this statement by Pakistan’s FS is just among those propaganda moments.
©SantoshChaubey