India Today Conclave 2017: There are no terror training camps in Pakistan: Abdul Basit
It must be the worst job in the world, but Abdul Basit, the high commissioner of Pakistan to India can't be faulted for doing his job well. To keep a calm face and brave the barrage of allegations over gravest of terrorism, including Mumbai 26/11 attacks, must be difficult. Nevertheless, that's exactly what Abdul Basit did at India Today #Conclave17, which is currently going on in Mumbai.
Basit, along with Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, former high commissioner to Pakistan, talked to India Today TV's executive editor, Gaurav Sawant, and the session was titled "Conversation: India Pakistan | Love Story or Hate Tale?".
| Photo: Indian Express |
In what expectedly turned out to be a heated exchange and a clever display of dodging bitter questions, Basit toed the usual line of denialism, saying "there are no terror training camps in Pakistan".
Here are some of the highlights of the discussion.
On 26/11 Mumbai attacks
Governments in India and Pakistan are in touch on 26/11 trial. It is a complex trial, please don't jump the gun: Abdul Basit.
If 1993 Mumbai blast mastermind Dawood Ibrahim can't be executed, how can we expect justice for 26/11 so soon: G Parthasarathy.
Why is it taking time to bring perpetrators of Samjhauta blasts to books: Abdul Basit.
Hope things would move forward as far as 26/11 trial is concerned. For that to happen there has to be a conducive environment. We need to sit across the table and discuss things, we can't expect action in vacuum: Abdul Basit.
On terrorism
Nothing justifies terrorism. Osama, world's most wanted terrorist, was found living close to a military cantonment in a palatial house in Pakistan and they deny backing terror groups: G Parthasarathy.
We need to look ahead. Dialogue should be there but only terrorism-centric: Parthasarathy.
There are no terror-training camps in Pakistan. Terrorism is one issue which is a common challenge for both the countries. We also need to discuss Siachen, Jammu and Kashmir. We need to pug the trust deficit which exists at the moment. Dealing with terrorism requires cooperation between both the neighbouring nations: Abdul Basit.
On future of India-Pakistan talks
We want to be reassured that nothing happens in the future and so, the borders should be sealed: Parthasarathy.
Let's call a spade a spade. We all know who runs Pakistan. It is not the government, but the military: Parthasarathy.
As long as the military establishment calls the shots in Pakistan, there will be trouble: Parthasarathy.