Imran Khan comes out in support of Sidhu
NEW DELHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday came out in support of Navjot Singh Sidhu who is embroiled in a controversy after attending his oath-taking ceremony, saying those who are criticising the Punjab minister are doing a great disservice to peace in the subcontinent.
Sidhu had attended the event in Pakistan on August 18. He was slammed by the Opposition and earned displeasure even from his chief minister Amarinder Singh over his decision to visit Pakistan and hug its Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
“I want to thank Sidhu for coming to Pakistan for my oath taking. He was an ambassador of peace and was given amazing love and affection by people of Pakistan,” Khan tweeted soon after Sidhu’s press conference.
“Those in India who targeted him are doing a great disservice to peace in the subcontinent - without peace, our people cannot progress,” Khan said.
To move forward, Khan said Pakistan and India must engage in dialogue and resolve their conflicts, including the Kashmir issue.
“The best way to alleviate poverty and uplift the people of the subcontinent is to resolve our differences through dialogue and start trading,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sidhu on Tuesday held a press conference in Chandigarh to defend his decision.
He hit back at the BJP, reminding it of trips to that country by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi as prime ministers.
He defended hugging Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa at the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan as an emotional response on learning that Sikh pilgrims may now be allowed to visit the Kartarpur shrine across the border.
“Why are there double standards? he said at a press conference here.
The then prime minister Atal Ji went there with a message of friendship. After that, the Kargil War took place. Five hundred twenty-seven Indian jawans attained martyrdom. Will you blame him? he said.
Then, Modi sahib went to Pakistan without even any official formalities and hugged former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. Will you not call him a patriot? he said, referring to Narendra Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore in 2015.
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday skirted the issue of Navjot Singh Sidhu hugging the Pakistan Army chief during his visit to Islamabad by terming it a "non-issue" and said the real thing is the relationship between India and Pakistan and the absence of a policy towards the country.
The party also accused the government of raking up the issue to obfuscate its own lack of policy towards Pakistan.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make public his letter to new Pakistan premier Imran Khan and clear his stand on whether the government has expressed willingness to resume dialogue despite the red lines put in place in the past four years.
"”Navjot Singh Sidhu's decision to go to Pakistan in his personal capacity is actually a non-issue. The real issue is the relationship between India and Pakistan, is the impact of the India-pakistan stand-off on the larger South Asia and the complete absence of the BJP government's policy towards Pakistan," he told reporters when asked about Sidhu defending his action of hugging the Pak Army chief.
Cricketer-turned-politician Sidhu visited Pakistan last week to attend the swearing-in of Imran Khan as Pakistan's prime minister. The Punjab minister on Tuesday defended hugging the Pakistan Army chief saying he got caught in the moment after hearing that Sikh pilgrims may get access to a shrine across the border.
Tewari alleged that the BJP government's policy towards Pakistan has "swung from the sublime to the ridiculous" and there has not been any policy till date.
"In the last four years, the NDA-BJP government has no policy towards Pakistan and it has been nothing except U-turns, somersaults and 180-degree turns," he said.
Accusing the BJP government of raking up Sidhu's issue, Tewari said, “There has been an attempt, a concerned attempt by the government and its friendly news dissemination outlets in order to try and obfuscate this government's lack of a policy on Pakistan. That is the real issue.”