Interview of NSA Moeed by Karan Thapar
The interview of Pakistan’s National Security Advisor, Mr. Moeed Yusuf at The Wire with Indian Journalist, Mr. Karan Thapar was the first dialogue between Pakistan and India in 15 months (after the constitutional changes in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019). The interview was more of an aggressive dialogue as it could have been expected. Mr. Yusuf’s composure was very calm and commendable while Mr. Thapar was more aggressive and his hands could be seen shaking in the heat of moments. Mr. Thapar asked some critical questions about Kashmir, Kalbhushan Jadhav, Mumbai Attacks, and the future of Pakistan and India Relations. Mr. Yusuf is a scholar and he was prepared for any sort of question that could be tossed at him. His answers were very logical and strategic (perhaps due to his background as a Scholar) and his posture gave a message of peace and serenity. On the other hand, Mr. Thapar looked somewhat anxious and furious. This interview can prove to be very important in the near future as Mr. Yusuf hinted that soon Pakistan is going to publish heaps of hard evidence against Indian involvement in internal affairs and terrorism in Pakistan. He also hinted that India has a desire to start a conversation with Pakistan. NSA, Mr. Yusuf, did an excellent job representing Pakistan’s stance for Peace and Human Rights throughout the interview. The only time his argument was felt weak was when Mr. Thapar asked him if Pakistan is willing to give up GB and POK in case of the creation of an independent Kashmiri state.
The key questions asked by the renowned Indian Journalist, Mr. Thapar, were about Kashmir and constitutional changes of August 2019, Kulbhushan Jadhav’s consular rights, and Pakistan’s response to it, and Pakistan’s involvement in the Mumbai Attacks.
Mr. Thapar considered the constitutional changes of Jammu and Kashmir an internal matter of India and asked why Pakistan is raising voice against it when Pakistan had done the same in Gilgit Baltistan. To which Mr. Yusuf responded that Kashmir is a disputed territory between India and Pakistan and India cannot make any permanent changes unilaterally (it is also a violation of the Shimla Agreement). About Mr. Thapar’s concern for GB, Mr. Yusuf said that GB has a whole different scenario as people of GB are willing to have full rights as citizens of Pakistan and no provincial status has been given to GB yet. Mr. Thapar called PM Imran Khan’s words and actions hypocritical as PM IK is continuously blaming India and Modi for Kashmiri
Genocide but doesn’t speak a word about Uyghur’s of China. To this NSA, Mr. Yusuf, said that the Government of Pakistan has gone over with China about this and considers that there doesn’t exist an issue.
The second concern of Mr. Thapar was that Kulbhushan Jadhav has not been given unimpeded consular access despite instructions given by ICJ. Mr. Yusuf responded that Pakistan is ready to give consular access but the Indian government is not accepting to send the 3rd consular to buy some more time. Pakistan’s law has a requirement that the lawyer given to Kulbhushan should be a Pakistani Citizen.
The last question raised by Mr. Thapar was related to Pakistan’s involvement in the Mumbai Attacks of 2008. He claimed that Pakistan is giving support to terrorists involved in the attack and justice has not been given to a single victim yet. Mr. Yusuf said that it is again due to a delay by the Indian Government. India has not sent any victim or witness of the attack to Pakistan (which is required by the court of law to provide justice). Pakistan was not allowed to examine the crime scene, he added. Before answering this question, Mr. Yusuf presented some hard evidence against Indian involvement in terrorism in Pakistan and said it was just a teaser.
The interview ended with some suggestions for the future of Pakistan India Relations by NSA, Mr. Yusuf, gave two clear prerequisites for any sort of dialogue one being the Kashmir Agenda and the second being terror. Pakistan will take two steps in a forward direction, he added, if India takes one step of fulfilling these prerequisites. Mr. Yusuf rightfully depicted, what some people might call, Imran Khan’s vision about the state of Pakistan and gave a clear and composed message through this interview.