Mani Shankar Aiyar, a veteran of the Congress party and a former Union minister, sparked controversy on Sunday by purportedly calling Pakistanis the “biggest assets of India” and denouncing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not wanting to engage in diplomatic relations with his country. According to Dawn, Mani Shankar Aiyar, who has previously drawn condemnation from the Bharatiya Janata Party for his divisive views, also urged open lines of communication between Pakistan and India.
According to my observations, Pakistanis tend to overreact to the opposing viewpoint. They become overly nice when we are friendly, and they become overly hostile when we are hostile.Mani Shankar Aiyar was quoted by Dawn as saying, “I have never been to a country where I was welcomed with such open arms as I was in Pakistan.”
On the second day of the Faiz Festival at Alhamra in Pakistan’s Lahore, the Congress leader was speaking to a gathering.
Mani Shankar Aiyar criticised Modi, saying that his refusal to engage in discussion with Pakistan is the “biggest mistake” the prime minister has made, according to the Pakistani Daily.
“Despite our differences, we need to communicate with Pakistan. The biggest mistake we have made in the last ten years has been not engaging in dialogue,” five Indian high commissioners who served in both the Congress and BJP governments in Islamabad agreed. We are brave enough to carry out surgical strikes on you, but we lack the bravery to approach you across the table and have a conversation,” he declared.
He went on to remind Pakistanis that although Modi has never garnered more than one-third of the vote, his system guarantees him two-thirds of the seats if he receives one-third of the total.”
Dawn cited him as stating, “So two-thirds of Indians are ready to come towards you (Pakistanis).”
The Congress lawmaker allegedly advocated for talks between India and Pakistan, saying, “The two nations should maintain conversation till the governments awaken, but neither Pakistan nor India were of assistance owing to visa concerns…I propose that professors, businesspeople, and students continue to meet outside of Pakistan and India, eschewing official channels.
“Every prime minister before PM Modi tried for some kind of dialogue with Pakistan but now it is a freeze situation,” Aiyar said in August of last year, criticising Modi for his dialogue with Pakistan.