IANS Exclusive: Good ties with Pakistan will benefit India more, says former Pak minister

Lahore, May 22: Urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rethink his 'Pakistan policy', former Pakistan Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that a good relationship between the two countries could encourage trade and hugely benefit New Delhi.

"We need to have a good relationship with India, especially between the two Punjabs. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is close to Afghanistan, Balochistan to Iran, and Karachi is close to the ocean. So, trade with India can be worked out through the landlocked province of Punjab," Chaudhry told IANS in an exclusive chat.

"If India develops good relations with Pakistan, they get access to Afghanistan and the entire Central Asian region. It will have a huge impact on trade in the region. That is the reason I think Narendra Modi needs to rethink his Pakistan policy. In fact, India will benefit more," he added.

Chaudhry, who served as the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and the Minister for Science and Technology in the government led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, also admitted that the current turmoil in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is a result of the poor policies adopted by the current Shehbaz Sharif government in Pakistan.

"Yes, demonstrations and violence have taken place in Kashmir as an elected government was replaced with a dummy one. There is a lot of resentment among the people of the region. This is what we call democracy because when people reject such moves, it shows that the society is alive and thriving," he said.

Chaudhry, who had earlier praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, once again mentioned the AAP supremo while highlighting the current situation in Pakistan.

"Inflation is a worldwide phenomenon... Yes, there is a lot of resentment in Pakistan against the government and many protests are taking place because people never voted for such a system.

"Arvind Kejriwal also mentioned the other day about how the largest party in Pakistan was targeted, Imran Khan was put in jail, and leaders were disqualified from participating in the elections. A fake regime is now running the show and it is quite obvious that the people of Pakistan, who can differentiate between a democratically elected government and a fascist regime, are deeply disappointed," he said.

The former minister also said that the people of Pakistan are not really "obsessed" with what is happening across the border.

"We in Pakistan are not really obsessed with India. We have our own issues to deal with, and are not really much bothered about the elections that are taking place in India. Also, I don't know if Rahul Gandhi is popular here, but I can certainly tell that Narendra Modi is quite unpopular," said Chaudhry.

Prime Minister Modi has been spotlighting the poor state of affairs in Pakistan during his ongoing election campaign, saying that the neighbouring nation which has been harbouring terrorists is now seen moving around with a begging bowl.

"Whatever I have been watching on the Indian news channels, it seems that the BJP-NDA will bag around 300 seats instead of the 400-plus target that was projected initially. They will face rejection in North India, particularly in Delhi and Punjab. I don't think that their goal of changing the Indian Constitution and making India an RSS country will succeed," Chaudhry said.