Anti-Pakistan slogans sell in India before elections, says Fawad Chaudhry

We are ready to discuss everything, information minister tells Indian media

Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said a likely reason for the government in New Delhi's hostility towards its neighbouring country is because "anti-Pakistan slogans sell in India", particularly before general elections.

“Elections are coming up in India and maybe anti-Pakistan slogans sell in India,” the minister was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.

At the same time he clarified that it isn't the case in Pakistan: "Anti-India slogans don’t sell in Pakistan."

Chaudhry's statement comes in the backdrop of the Modi government's last minute’s decision to cancel the meeting between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India on the sidelines of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session.



“Our understanding is that the abrupt cancellation of the meeting reflects the confusion within the government in Delhi and the divisions on this issue," the information minister said, adding, "You can’t accept [a proposal for a meeting] and reject it within a day.”

Despite the fact that Indian army chief Bipin Rawat on Saturday threatened Pakistan with ‘retaliation’ over its alleged involvement in last week’s killing of a border guard and policemen in occupied Kashmir, the information minister said that Islamabad is ready to resolve all issues through dialogue.

"We are ready to discuss everything. We have fought three wars over the past seven decades and we can’t change our neighbours. It is for India to decide," he was cited as saying.



While talking about cross-border terrorism, Chaudhry said that Pakistan too has concerns about terrorism backed by India in Balochistan. “Our intelligence agencies believe India is sponsoring the movements in Balochistan."

On Friday, India called off the scheduled meeting between Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Sushma Swaraj was to take place in New York on September 27.

Foreign Office spokesperson Muhammad Faisal said the development was an emblem of how India had once again squandered an opportunity for peace.

He clarified that the killing of a soldier of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) took place two days prior to the Modi government’s assent to the ministerial meeting.

The story originally appeared in Hindustan Times