Daily Times

In the first interview by a senior Pakistani official to an Indian news outlet since India’s unilateral and illegal actions on August 5 2019, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf spoke with India’s renowned journalist Karan Thapar on Tuesday, saying that Pakistan stands firmly for peace in the region through dialogue but New Delhi’s draconian policies towards Kashmiris have made talks impossible. He reiterated Prime Minister Imran Khan’s stance that if India takes one step forward, Pakistan will take two.

The SAPM outlined pre-conditions necessary for any dialogue and said New Delhi must release all political prisoners in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), lift the military siege, reverse the domicile bill and stop all human rights violations against Kashmiris before any dialogue could begin. He reminded Indian audiences that today, even pro-India Kashmiri politicians have publicly admitted that no one in IIOJK was willing to live under Indian occupation anymore. He emphasized that Kashmiris remain the principal party in the dispute according to Pakistan and their wishes and aspirations should be addressed in any dialogue.

Drawing a contrast between Pakistan and India, Dr Yusuf said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government is dedicated to pursuing economic security and connectivity for the prosperity of Pakistan and the region, but policy makers in New Delhi remain blind sighted by Hindutva ideology. He said India has lost the neighbourhood because of the expansionist policies of the BJP government, while Pakistan is pursuing peace in its neighbourhood.

Responding to Indian allegations about terrorism, Dr Yusuf said Pakistan facilitated investigations in all cases pending in courts but India is delaying the investigations by not providing evidence in the case. He said not finding a resolution to terror cases helped India in its false narrative of terrorism.

Dr Yusuf called out India for being unable to bring the perpetrators of the Samjhuta and Babri Masjid cases, Malegaon blast case and others to justice while it accused Pakistan of delays which spoke to double standards. Taking an aggressive approach towards Indian sponsored terrorism in Pakistan, the SAPM revealed new details about millions of dollars in payments made to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leadership by a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer through Indian embassy funds. He said Pakistan knows the names and ranks of officers in touch with terror leadership and would soon reveal Indian activities to the world through a detailed dossier based on lengthy investigations. He also revealed that India has financed anti-Pakistan terrorist groups and supported their merger with the TTP earlier this year.

For the first time, Dr Yusuf also blamed India for sponsoring the heinous Army Public School (APS) attack in which over 100 innocent children lost their lives, saying that Pakistan had record of eight phone calls made from India to TTP commander before the attack. He added that Indian intelligence handlers based in a neighbouring country had directed the attacks on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar and Pakistan Stock Exchange attack in the last two years. He also revealed how Balochistan Liberation Army terrorists are receiving treatment in a hospital in New Delhi.

Debunking latest propaganda by India on Gilgit Baltistan and Kashmir issue, Dr Yusuf said Pakistan stood by United Nations Security Council resolutions as the way forward for resolving the dispute and fulfilling the aspirations of over eight million Kashmiris. He said Indian propaganda would not shake the principled stance of Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

The SAPM said Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed his office to open space for the government in the region and find solutions to lingering problems, but his counterpart in India was pursuing an opposite direction. He highlighted that Pakistan stands for peace and would welcome any dialogue with India if the lives of Kashmiris in IIOJK were normalized, Kashmiris were recognized as the rightful principal party in any dialogue, and India stopped sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan. He also pointed to Pakistan’s response on February 27, 2019 and warned that any misadventure from India would result in an equally swift response from Pakistan.

According to The Wire, Yusuf spoke about Indian agent Kulbhushan Jadhav during the course of the interview and said that the RAW agent “has been caught with his pants down”. Yusuf denied Indian allegations during the interview that Pakistan did not grant unimpeded and unconditional consular access to New Delhi. Talking about the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the Pakistani national security adviser did not mince words in blaming India for the culprits not being punished severely.