After India’s elections, the defense minister hopes that relations between Islamabad and New Delhi would warm
Khawaja Asif, the minister of defense, voiced optimism on Monday for improved bilateral relations with India following the conclusion of the neighboring country’s April 19–June election phase.
Islamabad and New Delhi, the arch-rivals of the region, have a long history of tense ties, largely because of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) issue, which resulted in many conflicts. Tensions also typically flare up around India’s national elections.
Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament House in Islamabad, the defense minister stated, “Our relations with India could be improved after elections there,” noting that connections between Pakistan and India had their “own background”.
As the nation bordering China, India, Afghanistan, and Iran experienced tensions with all of its neighbors, with the exception of China, as a result of cross-border attacks by Iran and Afghanistan, Asif is optimistic that bilateral relations with New Delhi will improve once the neighbor’s impending election process is over.
It is important to remember that the world’s largest election, in which about one billion people are entitled to vote, will take place in India on April 19 and will be conducted in phases to choose a new parliament, according to Reuters.
Two-term strongman Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his regional allies are facing off against a squabbling coalition of twenty opposition parties in the election, and polls indicate that Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party will easily win.
Up until the neighboring nation takes meaningful action against the outlawed organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) safe havens there, Afghanistan has been the epicenter of the most recent wave of terrorism in Pakistan.
The minister of defense said that he had been to Afghanistan with a high-level team to ask the Taliban regime there to take concrete action against terrorism. But he also pointed out that the Kabul option was not realistic.
Asif stated, “Due to fluctuations in the Afghan interim government’s attitude towards Pakistan, our options are now reducing day-by-day for the neighbor.” He continued by saying that Pakistan has always supported Afghanistan, made sacrifices for them, and even engaged in combat with them.
He emphasized that international regulations restrict cross-border mobility to visa holders, and that the Pakistan-Afghan border is treated similarly to other crossings worldwide.
According to him, terrorists might enter Pakistan through the undocumented migration of Afghans.
Additionally, he gave a signal that the federal government will be taking significant action in the next few days to eradicate terrorism completely.
Asif provided details about the continuing investigation into the assault on Chinese nationals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), stating that combined investigative teams from China and Pakistan had discovered certain leads and will shortly uncover all relevant information about the terrorist incident.
On March 26, a suicide bomber in Shangla’s Besham city rammed his vehicle packed with explosives into the automobile carrying five Chinese citizens—a lady among them—as well as a Pakistani driver.
In response to a query, the minister stated that although Islamabad is meeting the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) aims, the government won’t be able to help the country for at least a year and a half.
He explained that there are outstanding cases for tax recovery of Rs. 2,700, while gas and energy theft is robbing the national exchequer of billions of rupees. But he was hopeful that by taking decisive action, he would be able to provide the people relief within the next six months.
In response to an additional query concerning limitations on the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, Asif stated that the US ought to provide a substitute means of meeting the nation’s energy requirements. He continued by saying that Washington has to take Islamabad’s precarious economic position into account, since the nation retains the right to buy gas from its neighbor at a discount.
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