Pak's proxy war policy strained Indo-Pak ties: Manish Tewari

Tewari asked Pakistan to stop blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it is Pakistan's own policy of using terror groups for a proxy war against India.

Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari has asked Pakistan to stop blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it is Pakistan's own policy of using terror groups for a proxy war against India resulted in strained relations between the two countries.

"The infliction point in India Pakistan relations was 26/11 Mumbai attacks. After 2008, irrespective of the fact that whether there was a UPA Government, or that was succeeded by a BJP-led NDA Government, the relationship with Pakistan has been in a deep freeze," he said while speaking at an event organised by the South Asia Center of the Atlantic Council on Monday.

"There is a very widespread feeling among the people of India, not limited to the government, that actions against the perpetrators of 26/11 is a pre-requisite for forward movement between India and Pakistan," he said.

Tewari said at a time when Modi spontaneously decided to land in Lahore to attend Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's granddaughter's wedding, the move was followed by the Pathankot airbase attack in India.

"And post, the attack on Pathankot airbase, when India invited the joint investigating team from Pakistan, which consisted of people from across the agencies and gave them access to actually have a look at the evidence which pointed to the fact that this was an attack which was sponsored from across the border.

"Rather than taking that evidence on board, you saw a knee-jerk reaction saying that this was a false flag operation and the Indians have done it themselves," he said.

"So, it's very easy to blame Modi or the right-wing approach, which they as a government have, but in reality, the infliction point between India and Pakistan is 26/11," Tewari said while responding to senior Pakistani leader Mushahid Hussian's reamarks that Modi's right-wing policies have resulted in the current low-ebb in relationship between Indian and Pakistan.

Hussain, however, claimed that India seems to be pursuing an "ideological foreign policy via Pakistan", which is based on the ideology of Hindutva and is an extension of what is happening to the Muslim population in India.

"That is creating more complications in Indo-Pak ties and also leading to bigotry and also certain kind of chasm between communities which is sanctioned by the state at times," he said.

"For instance, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, his mindset, his attitude and things like there was for the first time there was no Muslim representation in his government.

"So symbolism often becomes substance in these situations," he added.

PTI