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Govt's Balochistan remark a mistake: Brajesh
The former national security adviser termed India's comment a 'retrogressive step' in the current Indo-Pak relations.
Former national security adviser Brajesh Mishra has said the Government was not right in commenting on the situation in Balochistan, terming it a "retrogressive step" in the current India-Pakistan relations.
"It is a mistake to talk about Balochistan," Mishra, who was the key back-channel negotiator for former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his dealings with key countries including Pakistan, told a news channel in an interview on Tuesday night.
Mishra said the Government's condemnation of violence in Balochistan had undermined India's efforts to draw the attention of the international community at the continuing cross-border terrorism. "It's a retrogressive step," he stressed.
"Are we trying to say that we support the people of Balochistan? And even if we do, should we tell it publicly?" Mishra asked.
A serious human rights crisis is brewing in gas-rich Balcohistan in southwest Pakistan that is currently in the grip of an ethnic insurgency, with the Pakistani paramilitary forces reportedly carrying out a brutal crackdown on Baloch nationalists and even innocent civilians.
Last week, the External Affairs ministry condemned "spiralling violence" in the Pakistani province that borders Afghanistan and the use of "heavy military action" to quell it. New Delhi asked Islamabad to "exercise restraint in dealing with the people of Balochistan".
Islamabad took strong objection to the statement, with the Pakistan foreign office calling it an "interference" in its internal affairs.
Mishra also warned the Government against its allegedly "wishy-washy" attitude to cross-border terror and said that the peace process would be in jeopardy if Pakistan doesn't stop it.
Alluding to the forthcoming talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries to launch the third round of composite dialogue, he said: "We must use this opportunity to make it clear that if cross-border terror continues, the peace process will not continue."
