Riyadh ,Feb. 28: Saying he had said “interlocutor” and not “mediator”, minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor has moved swiftly to douse by far the most serious controversy he has set off since he joined the government, when he inadvertently revealed that New Delhi would like to see its newfound relationship with Saudi Arabia lead to the Gulf country using its not inconsiderable influence to bear down on Pakistan.
On the second day of a landmark visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Riyadh, the first by an Indian PM in 28 years (the previous one was by Indira Gandhi), Mr Tharoor told the Indian media here late on Saturday: “We feel that Saudi Arabia of course has a long and close relationship with Pakistan, which makes Saudi Arabia a valuable interlocutor for us.”
His remarks kicked off a storm of protest from the Opposition BJP as well as some other parties back in India, who suggested it was a clear departure from India’s long-standing position that there was no role for a third party in the resolution of bilateral problems with Pakistan.
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office have also privately signalled their unhappiness. Mr Tharoor, meanwhile, issued a clarification which was circulated by the external affairs ministry, which said: “A section of the media has misread the remarks made by me in Riyadh last evening. What I basically said was that Saudi Arabia is a valuable interlocutor for India. Any other interpretation was neither meant nor warranted.”
On Twitter, the social networking site, the minister simultaneously wrote: “If I speak to you, you are my interlocutor! I mentioned the Saudis are our interlocutors, i.e. the people we are here to speak to. Some misinterpretation?”
The damage has, however, been done, officials fear, and they only hope that his remarks will be seen as one made by a junior minister which will be overtaken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia on Sunday night, where the Indian leader is set to raise India’s concerns over the terror threat confronting both nations.
Stating that Saudi Arabia has its own issues with Al Qaeda, Mr Tharoor had said: “We expect to have a constructive conversation on the issue. The tentacles of terror have already spread from Afghanistan to Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine, and the latest is Yemen.”
He also said “when India tells Saudi Arabia about its experience, the Arab nation listens as somebody who is not in any way an enemy of Pakistan but rather is a friend of Pakistan.”
Syed Akbar