The US had lost its focus in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan by partnering with Pakistan, BJP president Rajnath Singh has said as he asked the Obama administration to keep India in the loop on any new initiatives in the region. He said the US had a mix bag of experience in partnering with Pakistan in this war against terror.
“The US has made Pakistan a partner in its war on terror in Afghanistan in the last ten years. The results have been a mixed bag. While the Taliban and Al Qaeda have lost many key leaders and thousands of fighters they continue to hold on to their strongholds in the south and east of Afghanistan and also inside Pakistan territory,” he said.
“This happened primarily because along the way sometime in 2003/4 the US had lost focus due to its campaigns elsewhere and the terror outfits had gained the breathing space to regroup and resurrect. The result was further fleecing of American dollars by Pakistan, further dependence of America on that country and further rise in the activities of terror networks,” he said.
Mr Singh also raked up the issue of human rights violations of the people of Gilgit Baltistan in the illegally-occupied parts of J&K. “India and Afghanistan have traditionally been tied together by the Silk Route. If India does not share a land border of 106 km with Afghanistan today, it is because of Pakistan’s illegal occupation of this historical part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1948,” he said.
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‘Strip Amartya of Ratna’
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, July 24
After Nobel laureate and Bharat Ratna awardee Amartya Sen said that he does not want Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to be India’s Prime Minister, BJP MP Chandan Mitra suggested that the “next NDA government must strip him of Bharat Ratna.” Prof. Sen was awarded the country’s highest civilian award in 1999.
Launching his tirade against Prof. Sen on Twitter, Mr Mitra wrote: “Amartya Sen says he doesn’t want Modi to be India’s PM: Is (Sen) he even a voter in India? Next NDA Govt must strip him of Bharat Ratna.” Mr Modi is considered as the frontrunner for the BJP’s PM candidate post.
The BJP MP said no Bharat Ratna awardee should toe any party’s line. He also advised Prof. Sen against seeming like a part of the Congress’ poll team through his statements.
“Please Dr Sen, don’t peddle your unsolicited comments on India,” he tweeted.
. We now know you as a has-been economist who sells Congress line for a living,” Mr Mitra tweeted.
Prof. Sen had said that he would not like to see Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as India’s Prime Minister. He had also criticised Mr Modi’s model of governance.