Hyderabad: The government while dealing with Pakistan should not forget that the neighbouring country has been a “rogue and a repeated offender” in its engagement with India, Congress MP and former Union Minister Renuka Chowdhary said here today. “It’s not a matter of us (Congress) taking a stand at this point when talks are already happening. Let it not ever be said that we have opposed this. If there is a positive result for this that comes out of these outcomes, so be it.
“But, I think somewhere the government has to take cognisance of the fact that Pakistan has always been a rogue and a repeat offender,” she told reporters. Noting that a lot of patience is required in waiting to see results from Pakistan in taking concrete steps towards improving relations with India, she said the government should remember that Pakistan says something and does something else. “It takes a lot of patience for us to wait for some results that come. The government has to have better understanding of how Pakistan says something and does something else,” she said.
Choudhary said Pakistan cannot be appreciated at this juncture as it is not clear whether JeM chief and dreaded terrorist Masood Azhar has been arrested or not. “Like I said, Pakistan says something and does something else, we don’t have enough evidence to say that he (Azhar) has been detained. Let’s see what comes out of all this now. But it is premature for us to sit back and say that they are doing some great things,” she said. Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy said the Army calls the shots in Pakistan as democracy is not strong in that country.
“This is a process that is going on. I do not want to comment on that. What I understand about Pakistan, there is lot of pressure from America. After some pressure, something should happen. But it is wrong to have any expectation from Pakistan. “Nawaz Sharif does not have much importance there. Army’s writ runs there. American pressure is there on the Army, as per international channels,” Reddy said. It is better for India to engage with Pakistan as the latter does have a nuclear bomb, he said. “There is no government in Pakistan. Army is the government. We do not know whose word we can trust there. We should have friendship with Pakistan. We cannot fight a war. We have to talk. But, democracy in Pakistan is not as strong as it is in our country,” Reddy said.
Meanwhile, Choudhary expressed anguish over the reported rape and subsequent suicide of a woman in UP after the incident was circulated on a social media platform. The young Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (Akhilesh Yadav) should take action against the perpetrators of the incident and those who circulated it on social media, she said.
