Srinagar:
Calling Pakistan a “failed nation,” President Farooq Abdullah of the National Congress (NC) said relations between New Delhi and Islamabad would not improve until it is elected in a neighbouring country.
Speaking to reporters after a party event at North Carolina headquarters, he said Pakistanis wanted friendship with India as they warned that war between the two countries would have dangerous consequences.
“There is tension, but I cannot say whether it is the final option or not. The rulers of both countries must decide,” Abdullah said when asked whether the Indian-Pakistan war was the final option.
However, the former prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir's former states said relations between the two countries only improve when the troops “go” and Pakistan has a government of the people.
“I don't think it will improve unless India-Pakistan relations improve. Pakistani people want friendship with India, but there is no class there. I am sure there will be peace between India and Pakistan when the people's government comes,” he added.
Calling Pakistan a “failed nation,” the NC President said that rather than working to improve the country, to improve the people, the situation, the country's rulers chose to confront India to escape their responsibility.
“The outcome is that if there's a war because both have nuclear power, it's dangerous. If they use it, only God knows what will happen,” he warned.
Claiming that Kashmir has gone through “difficult times,” Abdullah said he cannot predict what the future will be.
“Both countries are preparing to face each other on the battlefield, and efforts are being made all over the world that this (war) should not occur, and in some way discovery to grab the people behind the attack and their masterminds.
Asked about the deportation of Pakistani citizens, the former prime minister said the action was against humanity.
“On humanitarian grounds, this behavior is not good and it can be said to be against humanity. They lived here for 70 or 25 or 5 years, they were here, their children were here, they are studying here. They are not hurting India.
When asked about the announcement of the country's caste census centre, Abdullah said there was nothing wrong with it.
“People were demanding it from day one. It's nothing new. It was demanded by the people. That's a good thing. Some say there are 11-12 trillion Muslims, about 14 trillion, about 22 kroner.
“So for the first time we will know how many Brahmins there are, how many castes there are, how many Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, etc. Let's know. There's nothing wrong with that.”
Responding to questions about reporting harassment by JK residents outside of Union territory, Abdullah said that while some people are in the habit of harassing people, we should not be afraid of them.
“Not only the government here, but other governments are seeing that it won't happen. We have people in our country who say that or do something like that. They're not worried about what will happen in the country.
“Didn't there be any gods (Naturam) from here that killed Mahatama Gandhi? Such people are there. Such people are there.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published by Syndicate Feed.)
