Talks with Pakistan are a 'bluff': MJ Akbar hits out at 'double-faced' Pakistan

Former Minister of State of External Affairs MJ Akbar, who is also a part of the all-party delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar, has called talks with Pakistan a 'bluff'.

Speaking during an address to Indian diaspora at Copenhagen, the journalist-turned-politician also called Pakistan 'double-faced' and questioned that with which face should India talk to?

"Even well-meaning friends will ask you, why don't you talk to Pakistan? Tell them Pakistan has a government with a double face, which face do we talk to? Pakistan has a government with a forked tongue; whose tongue do we address? Pakistan has talks with a poisoned tongue that gets hurt when a tongue is poisoned... The talks are nothing but a bluff," Akbar said.

Praising the Modi government's response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Akbar added, "We now have a leader who has actually called the bluff, Narendar Modi... Nobody has made as much effort to bring a nation with a genetic disorder to its senses."

Led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Indian delegation, is touring France, the UK, Germany, the EU, Italy, and Denmark. The Members of Parliament also include BJP MP Daggubati Purandeswari, Samik Bhattacharya, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress MPs Ghulam Ali Khatana and Amar Singh, former Union Minister MJ Akbar.

Desperation among protesters
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Ravi Shankar Prasad reacted strongly on Friday to anti-India slogans raised by Pakistani nationals outside a venue hosting an Indian parliamentary delegation in Copenhagen.

Prasad characterized the protest as an act of "desperation" and advised attendees to "ignore them with impunity."

While addressing the Indian diaspora in Copenhagen, Prasad remarked on the motivations behind the protest, suggesting that the Pakistani demonstrators were spurred into action due to the extensive media coverage of India's global outreach program aimed at combating terrorism.

He expressed his surprise at their presence, and said, “I was very surprised to see Pakistanis here raising slogans...our programme is going very well...we are getting wide coverage...their handlers in Pakistan must have told them to do something. They have come here in desperation. Pakistan is a desperate country that lives in desperation. Ignore them with impunity.”

'Human Rights Violations'
Prasad went on to shed light on the human rights violations occurring in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Balochistan, emphasizing the suffering of civilians in these regions.

He said, “What kind of ill treatment in PoK people are suffering, do you know? They are crying to shift to India...in Balochistan, women are given the worst barbaric treatment possible...Pakistan is in great commotion today...We fought four conventional wars...none of this India started, we only responded and Pakistan lost all of them... 'Jinnah ne banaya Pakistan woh ban gayi General ki Dukan' (Jinnah created Pakistan, it became an Army General's shop).”


'IMF must see what loans are being used for'
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi highlighted the unity of all Indian parties against Pakistan.

"I am from the same Shiv Sena that dug up the cricket pitch to not allow Pakistan to play a cricket match in India and with the same commitment, I'm part of the joint delegation that has come from all political parties to say that as Indians we stand one and nobody can divide us," she said.

Chaturvedi also fired shots at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for providing a loan to Pakistan, suggesting that it has gone to the Pakistan disruptors outside the venue.

"As we were coming here, we saw some flags, and you all would know what those flags are. And I thought to myself, the IMF loan is coming in handy, and I hope those who are giving them the IMF loan realise what it's being used for," she said.

(With ANI inputs)