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‘Unresolved questions of Partition...’: Mani Shankar Aiyar on Pahalgam attack
Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, died earlier this week as terrorists opened fire with their assault rifles near Jammu and Kashmir's picturesque Pahalgam.
Former union minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Saturday linked the Pahalgam attack to "unresolved questions of the Partition." Addressing an event in the national capital, the Congress veteran said the people of India have been withstanding the consequences of the Partition.
Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, died earlier this week as terrorists opened fire near Jammu and Kashmir's picturesque Pahalgam town. The survivors said the terrorists targeted non-Muslims.
The attack has intensified tensions between India and Pakistan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowing to hunt down the perpetrators of the dastardly attack and their handlers.
Also read: Houses razed, 60 raids, Pak nationals deported: Crackdown over Pahalgam attack| 10 points
"I think many people almost prevented the partition. But the partition happened...because there were differences in value systems and assessments of the nature of India's nationhood and its civilizational inheritance between people like Gandhi, I would say, and Pandit Nehru ... and Jinnah and many other Muslims who did not agree with Mr Jinnah," Aiyar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"But the fact is that partition happened, and till today, we are living with the consequences of that partition. Is this how we should be living? Is not the unresolved question of partition reflected in the tragedy that was enacted near Pahalgam on 22 April?" the senior Congress leader asked.
Pahalgam attack
India has announced several punitive actions against Pakistan, including putting in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty, cutting down the number of diplomatic staff and shutting down the Attari border.
India has also revoked the visas of Pakistani nationals with effect from April 27 and asked them to leave the country. It has asked Indian nationals in Pakistan to immediately return.
The authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have razed the houses of six terrorists over the past two days and carried out over 60 raids to weed out overground workers.
As India mounted pressure on Pakistan, the country's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said he was ready to participate in "any neutral, transparent and credible investigation.”
