New Delhi: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said PM Imran Khan was ready to speak to PM Modi over the phone and that Islamabad was willing to consider returning Indian pilot if it led to de-escalation between the two countries.
The statement comes a day after Imran Khan made an offer for talks amid heightened hostilities between the two nations on Wednesday, following the capture of an Indian Air Force pilot by Pakistani armed forces.
“From here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom," Khan said on Wednesday after India claimed to have shot down a Pakistan Air Force F-16. During the aerial confrontation between the IAF and the PAF after the latter breached the Indian airspace — Indian MiG-21 Bison was shot down in Pakistan occupied Kashmir region as well — leading to the capture of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.
Videos released from the Pakistani side show that the IAF pilot is in their custody and the Indian side has sought safe and quick return of the captive pilot.
"I ask India: With the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in Modi's," Khan said, alluding to nuclear capabilities of the two nations. "We invite you for dialogue... better sense must prevail," he added.
Former Indian diplomats and strategic affairs experts, however, say it is difficult to reconcile Pakistan’s aggressive actions and Khan’s appeal for peace and dialogue. The former diplomats News18 spoke to said PM Khan’s offer of dialogue and peace was hollow without the necessary acknowledgment of terror groups housed in Pakistan.
Former Deputy National Security Adviser and High Commissioner to Pakistan Satish Chandra spoke to News18 and questioned PM Khan’s appeal for dialogue. “If indeed Imran Khan is serious that he does not want Pakistan to remain as a nursery of terrorism, he should walk the talk and should have thanked India for the attack on Balakot, which is notorious as a prominent terrorist training centre,” Chandra said.
The former NSA and diplomat said that India was on the right track and that dialogue with Pakistan had not yielded anything in years. “The time for talks is over and it is time for action. Talk should be only held as and when Pakistan stops the export of terror to India and provides proof that it is shutting down the infrastructure of terror and acting against terrorist elements in the country such as Hafeez Saeed and Masood Azhar as well as bringing to book the perpetrators of 26/11,” Chandra said.
According to him, past incidents show that Pakistan would not easily give up its use of terror against India. The Indian government, he said, must continue to mount pressure on its neighbor till it is compelled to give up on terror.
News18 also spoke to Amar Sinha, former Secretary in the MEA and former Indian ambassador to Afghanistan and Tajikistan, who said PM Khan’s statements on Wednesday did not represent any change in the Pakistani approach. “From my perspective, there is nothing new in his statement except that the context has changed and there is real danger of an escalation,” the former diplomat said. “His statement is directed more at the international audiences. On the face of it, it sounds reasonable and reconciliatory, but in reality it does not even come close to addressing the core issue: terrorism emanating from the soil of Pakistan,” Sinha added.
According to him, PM Khan had no assurances to offer and no concrete action to show to the world.
Vivek Katju, former Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and also ambassador to Myanmar and Afghanistan, echoed similar sentiments. “There is a wide gap between Imran Khan’s professions of desiring peace and the provocative action of the PAF in targeting military installations in India,” Katju said.
Former Research and Analysis Wing (RA&W) chief Vikram Sood said India should not respond to PM Khan’s statements.
“How can you trust someone who has killed 40 of our men and then pretends to be holier than thou,” Sood said. “What is the evidence that he is saying things in good faith?”
Sood also said that India should lay low for a while and be prepared for “round three”. “The government will have to go into it both diplomatically and militarily,” he said.
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