On May 4 and May 5, India will host the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Goa. The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, will attend the SCO meeting. Though Dr S Jaishankar and Bhutto will be in the same room for the meeting, he has categorically denied any chances of a discussion on the sidelines of the SCO meeting. On the other hand, Bhutto has also expressed no desire to meet with Dr S Jaishankar.
However, with such an opportunity, the well-wishers of Pakistan are turning up to guide the Ministry of External Affairs to take advantage of the situation. One such op-ed hoping for a meeting between India and Pakistan authored by Sudheendra Kulkarni was published on NDTV. His op-ed was shared by former Pakistani diplomat Abdul Basit where he wrote, “India desperately needs a bilateral meeting with Pakistan at Goa. Pakistan mustn’t oblige, for “breaking ice” is a farce that will only weaken Pakistan’s principled position on Kashmir. India needs to do some soul-searching. More of the same will not work.”
While some like Abdul Basit used the op-ed by Kulkarni to show India down and blame it for the acts of terrorism that Pakistan commits, others were celebrating the op-ed for essentially showing India its place for refusing to talk to a terror nation like Pakistan.
“Neighbours should never stop talking. you can change your friends, but not your neighbours.”
— Maaria ماریہ (@_mwaseem_) May 1, 2023
Eye opening article by sir @SudheenKulkarni
Opinion: India Looks All Set To Miss A Huge Chance This Week – NDTV https://t.co/o3nISX4JYy
Kulkarni started his op-ed by saying, “Neighbours should never stop talking.” He reminded the current government of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s statement that you can change your friends but not your neighbours. He talked about talks between the two neighbouring countries on different levels. He expressed his dismay at how cold the relationships have gone. Interestingly, he noted it would be a big moment of SCO meeting if Dr S Jaishankar even shakes hands with his counterpart from Pakistan.
Kulkarni was not pleased with the statement issued by Bhutto, where he said, “Pakistan’s continued commitment to the SCO charter and process along with the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities”. He was shocked to see the statement that insinuated the SCO charter bars two member countries from having a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SCO meet. Simultaneously, he was not happy with Dr S Jaishankar categorically saying, “It is very difficult for us to engage with a neighbour who practices cross-border terrorism against us.”
Let’s talk from personal experience. My last neighbour was a mess. They threw dead rats and garbage in my front yard every other day. Despite asking my then-landlord to intervene, as they were relatives, it did not stop. Till the last day, I faced one or other problems from the neighbours. I did try to have peaceful conversations with them, but it did not work out. Eventually, I stopped talking to or entertaining them, and things got better. Yes, we cannot change neighbours, but we can at least ignore them on every possible platform to ensure peace of mind.
The Kashmir issue
Kulkarni claimed while Pakistan’s eyes on the Kashmir issue bear no fruit for the economically-challenged country, the claims on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are “no less impractical”. He said, “The assertions by leading functionaries of Narendra Modi’s government that India will not rest until it takes back the lost territories of J&K are as unrealistic as many Pakistani politicians’ prophesy that the Indian side of Kashmir would someday become either independent or merge with Pakistan. India will never be able to wrest PoK back from Pakistan and Aksai Chin from China. Both LoC and LAC are now cast in stone.”
Kulkarni clearly showed zero faith in the leadership and military capacity of the country. It is to be remembered that equating the claims by India on PoK and Pakistan on Kashmir is in itself fallacious. Perhaps one could remind Kulkarni of Maharaja Hari Singh signing the Instrument of Accession at Amar Palace in Jammu on October 26, which India’s last Governor-General Lord Mountbatten accepted on October 27.
When Kulkarni says that India should forget about its claim on PoK, he fails to also mention the strategic importance of the Pakistan occupied area. Because of its location, PoK is of immense strategic importance. It shares borders with several countries – the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province provinces (now called Khyber-Pakhthunkhwa) in Pakistan to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan in the north-west, Xinjiang province of the People’s Republic of China to the north and India’s Jammu and Kashmir to the east.
One thing Kulkarni did get right is the fact that promoting Islamic extremism and terrorism in Kashmir and elsewhere has backfired on the neighbouring country, as Pakistan itself is facing terrorist attacks every now and then. However, he called out the Indian government for using Pakistan-sponsored terrorism for the near-total cessation of relations”.
Kulkarni questioned India’s stand on not holding a conversation with Pakistan. He gave the example of India conversing with China even after the Galwan conflict. Putting it parallel with the India-Pakistan conflict, he questioned why Dr S Jaishankar could not hold a bilateral meeting with Bhutto in Goa. It appears Kulkarni missed the point that Pakistan tirelessly sends terrorists to India. It does not comply with the ceasefire. Not only in Kashmir, but Pakistan has also been feeding drugs and weapons to Punjab. It has fuelled the Khalistan movement in Punjab to the extent that the likes of Amritpal Singh are now mushrooming, making Punjab a sensitive border state.
The not-so ‘undeniable gains’
Further, Kulkarni listed three “undeniable gains” of holding talks with Pakistan. He compared India’s trade numbers with China which stood at USD 136 billion, out of which imports stood at USD 100 billion approx, to trade numbers with Pakistan, which stood at merely USD 400 million. He ignored the fact that China manufactures many products that India uses. Pakistan hardly manufactures anything, except terrorism. The limited imports from the country include sports goods, pink salt, Multani clay and a few other products.
With such limited manufacturing capabilities and worsening economic conditions where the country cannot even provide ample electricity to its businesses, Pakistan is the only country gaining from Indo-Pak trade. Remember, Pakistan is not even able to provide food to its people. From flour to tomato, the prices have gone over the roof.
In his second “gain”, he explained how India’s adamant stand not to talk to Pakistan if the neighbour continues to sponsor terrorism has damaged SAARC, which is turning beneficial for SCO, which is a Chinese initiative. SAARC’s last meeting was held in Nepal in 2014. The next meeting was supposed to happen in Pakistan. Still, it did not occur as India refused to go to Pakistan for the meeting. Kulkarni conveniently ignored the fact that by cornering Pakistan on multiple platforms, India has strategically put the neighbour in a place where literally no one is listening to it.
Now would be a good time to remind Kulkarni why SAARC Summit did not happen in Pakistan in 2016. It was because of the Uri attack. Not only India but Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka also pulled out of the 19th SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad from November 15 to November 16, 2016. The doings of Pakistan led to the cancellation of the SAARC Summit. Blaming India for the mess is not the right thing to do.
Not to forget, in an op-ed for The Quint in 2016, Kulkarni drooled over Pakistan’s “love” for Bollywood and claimed not allowing Pakistani actors to work in Indian films was outrageous. Interestingly, he recalled an incident when he was in Lahore, and someone he talked to expressed anger towards the Indian entertainment industry as it was “propagating Hindu culture” in Pakistan. The person told Kulkarni, “Because your films are spreading Hindu culture among Muslims here. Your films show devi-devatas. They propagate Hindu social customs, which are anti-Islamic.” Still, he chose to side with the Pakistanis and called out the Indian government for now being a “soft power” in his 2-16 op-ed.
In his third point, Kulkarni claimed if India and Pakistan work together, they can bring peace to Afghanistan. He wrote, “Doesn’t Afghanistan present a good opportunity for our two countries to work together for peace, stability and common prosperity in the region? The undeniable truth is this: Neither Pakistan can succeed in keeping India out of Afghanistan, nor does India ignore Pakistan’s importance in securing a better future for Afghanistan. Therefore, instead of trying to harm each other in Kabul and incurring heavy losses in the process, our two countries should develop a convergent strategy to benefit our common civilisational neighbour – and also benefit ourselves.”
Did Kulkarni completely forget how there were reports that weapons and ammunition left by Americans were shifted to Pakistan soon after the troops left? Did he forget that Pakistan stopped India’s trucks for relief in Afghanistan for days? Did he forget how Afghanistan has repeatedly accused Pakistan of destabilising peace in the country?
It is evident that Sudheendra Kulkarni wishes to create a narrative in favour of India lowering its guard against a terror nation like Pakistan based on lies, misrepresentations and rhetoric, however, India, as one of the prime victims of Pakistan’s radical Islamism and its state policy of terrorism, must resist these overtures by Pakistan or its sponsors in India.
The senseless comparison of Israel and Pakistan
Kulkarni then insinuated that India should show Pakistan that it is more important to us than Israel. How naive can someone be? Israel is one of the best friends India can have. From supporting India in security to standing tall against all odds, Israel has repeatedly proved its worth to India. The same goes when it comes to standing with Israel on several matters. India has supported Israel in every possible way. Kulkarni wants Dr S Jaishankar to take Bhutto for a walk on a Goa beach just like PM Modi took then-Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu for a stroll. Indeed Bhutto can use some walk and lose a few kilos, but that does not mean India needs to do something in that matter.
Kulkarni noted there were around 15,000 Goans in Karachi in the 1950s. India and Pakistan should build something along those lines, he said. In a 2022 report, Tribune Pakistan noted there are 6,000 Goans in Karachi. Dear Mr Kulkarni, where did 9,000 Goans go? Did you try to find out? Maybe Kulkarni should concentrate on fielding a common candidate to defeat PM Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as he said in a press conference in June 2022 instead of meddling with foreign affairs.
Sudheendra Kulkarni – a repeat offender and defender of India’s enemies
In 2020, Sudheendra Kulkarni parroted the Chinese line and undermined India while appearing on Chinese state media. He had underplayed Chinese aggression and declared that China is not a hostile power.
Sudheendra Kulkarni had made a shocking claim that China is not a ‘hostile’ power. He had then tried to balance it out by claiming that India too is not a hostile nation. As per reports, China has been in territorial conflicts with over a dozen countries. Even though the International Court of Justice has rejected its dubious claims, China continues to subvert the territorial rights of the nations surrounding the South China Sea, and had occupied Tibet, parts of Mongolia and regularly claims territories in Bhutan, India, Japan and even Russia as its own.
The Communist-run country has claimed fishing rights in the water near islands in Indonesian territory. Besides, China has had disputes with Laos, and Cambodia on ‘historical precedents and with Thailand over the Mekong River since 2001. China has disputes with Japan over Senkaku and Ryu Kya islands. Moreover, the expansionist country has staked claim to the whole of South Korea on some occasions. Besides, the Communist-controlled country also has disputes with North Korea over Mount Pek-tu and the Tuman River. Earlier, it was reported that China had occupied the Rui village in the Gorkha district of Nepal. Towards the end of the video, Kulkarni even encourages Indians to seek inspiration from China’s achievements, amidst the border standoff at the Line of Actual Control.
It is notable here that Kulkarni has long been a China apologist. In 2017, then the Modi government publicly shunned China’s Belt and Road Forum organised in Beijing to promote the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, raising concerns over the CPEC. However, Kulkarni had attended the event and had even criticised the Modi government there before Chinese and Indian media. “Whosoever has advised the PM, has given a piece of very, very bad advice”, Kulkarni had stated.
