No option other than to hold talks with Pak, says Sidhu
Chandigarh: Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu Thursday insisted that dialogue and diplomatic pressure will count for in seeking a long-term solution to terror outfits operating across the border, amid strain in India-Pakistan ties in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent developments.
“I stand by my conviction that dialogue and diplomatic pressure will count for a great deal in seeking a long-term solution to the presence and practice of terror outfits that operate within and across the border,” the cricketer-turned-politician said in a two-page statement titled “We have a choice.”
“The solution to terror is peace, development and progress and not unemployment, hatred and fear,” he said.
The Congress leader’s statement came a day after his friend and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan talked peace and invited India for a dialogue amid escalations across the border.
On both sides of the border, tacticians are planning for the worst, he said, adding that they must think the worst of one another, because only in thinking the worst, do they believe that they can protect and defend.
“But this belief is a mirage,” he said.
He said, “Fear has been among us these last days, an unwelcome guest”.
It is easy to think the worst of the other, but it does not make us safer, he added.
“I stand by my country. I am the son of a freedom fighter, and the true test of my patriotism is courage. I stand against the fear that keeps many of us silent,” he said.
He said he stood deeply by the principle he held that a community cannot be blamed for the actions of a few.
“A sentiment our Prime Minister echoed, when he said ‘Our fight is against terrorism and enemies of humanity. Our fight is for Kashmir not against Kashmir, not against Kashmiris.’ A sentiment our External Affairs Minister shared, when she said ‘Our fight is not with Pakistan, our fight is with the terror establishment’,” Sidhu said.
Strongly condemning the “cowardly” attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama by a Pakistan-based terror group in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed on February 14, Sidhu had asked whether an entire nation can be blamed for a handful of people, a comment that invited criticism from many leaders.
On Thursday, Sidhu said “no son of our soil should be separated from his loved ones as fighter pilot Abhinandan is today.”
An IAF pilot was captured by Pakistan after an air combat on Wednesday during which the two sides said they shot down each other’s warplanes that followed an unsuccessful attempt to target Indian military installations in retaliatory strikes that sparked fears of war. (PTI)
Press Trust of India
