Islamabad: Pakistan would be willing to “deal with” Narendra Modi if the controversial Hindu nationalist wins the forthcoming general election in India, Islamabad’s acting foreign minister said Thursday. As chief minister of Gujarat, Modi was tarnished by a series of massacres in which between 900 and 2,000 people died in his state in 2002. Now the leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he is the current favourite to win India’s election, due in April and May.
But Sartaj Aziz, the acting foreign minister of Pakistan, said that his efforts to ease tensions with India would not be affected by Modi becoming prime minister. He recalled how Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the last BJP leader to serve as Indian prime minister, paid an official visit to Pakistan in 1999. “Personally I’m not worried,” said Aziz. “Firstly, we should deal with anybody who the people of India elect and secondly, let’s not forget that the last time we had a breakthrough in our relationship was also with a BJP government. Vajpayee was from the BJP. I think before an election, politics is slightly different - more nationalistic and so on - but after elections you handle state affairs.” Aziz, 85, said. “Our platform for better relations with India and with Afghanistan is the enormous economic opportunities that lie ahead, for regional cooperation and regional connectivity with central Asia and west Asia and trade opportunities. “These are opportunities that we all can’t afford to miss.”
“The economic dividend from peace with Pakistan should be equally appealing to India,” he added.
In Pakistan, however, Modi is notorious for his alleged hand in the Gujarat massacre. He was accused of failing to protect Muslims and ordering the security forces to turn a blind eye to the bloodshed, although the Indian Supreme Court later exonerated him. Asked whether Modi’s accession to the premiership would be a “complicating factor”, Aziz replied: “I’ll wait and see. The expectation always is that after the election, when you handle state affairs, you obviously calculate your national interest and see where we are. That’s why I’m emphasising national interest, because India also needs more markets.”
