India can't carve out brand new red lines: Hina Rabbani Khar

Former FM says if Pakistan wanted to up the ante on Kashmir, it would say plebiscite first and dialogue later

Former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Tuesday said, “The BJP government has disappointed us all,” India Today reported.

Khar was speaking at the India Today Global Roundtable on the eve of the Saarc summit in Kathmandu for a session titled ‘Can India and Pakistan be friends?’ which was moderated by TVTN managing editor Rahul Kanwal.

“There was a complete negative image of PM Modi in Pakistan before the elections. But after he came to power with a two-third majority, Pakistan, as smart statesmanship demands, put the past behind and [Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif attended Modi's swearing-in ceremony," Khar said of the new Indian prime minister.

"I told Karan Thapar then that Modi can be a game-changer. But that opportunity lasted for a few months.”

“Two years ago, I used to be an indefatigable optimist on India-Pakistan relationship. But I see myself as realistic. We have been bad neighbours and allowed hatred to filter in,” Khar said

Further, Rabbani spoke of the Kashmir issue and addressed the tension between both countries in reference to the disputed region, so much so, that India called of secretary-level talks with Pakistan after the high commissioner decided to meet with Kashmiri separatists.

“Red lines are important and they have to be accepted. But you can't carve out brand new red lines,” she said in reference to the talks being called off.

“It is wrong to say Pakistan fixated on Jammu and Kashmir. It is an issue. If it is not an issue, we would not have fought wars on it. But we have to cross the troubled waters. In 1965, we decided that we cannot be fixated on Kashmir,” the former foreign minister added.

“If Pakistan wanted to up the ante, it would say plebiscite first and dialogue later.”

“India and Pakistan cannot afford to be delusional while hoping to for a meaningful relationship,” said former foreign minister Khar.

“It has been a one-way traffic. Pakistan has been sending signals and signals and India is fixated on certain issues,” she said.

With two major operations against militants going on in the country -- Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Operation Khyber-I --  it was no surprise that Khar would refer to the topic of terrorism.

“If terrorism is an issue for India, it is a bigger issue in Pakistan,” she said.

“There has been a sea change. Ever since the democratic government came to power in Pakistan, we have fought terrorism hard. Our soldiers are dying. Terrorism is very big issue for Pakistan,” Khar said.

Additionally, with the Saarc summit just a day away, Khar put forth an different view on the South Asian leaders’ summit, declaring it “the least integrated region in the world.”

Khar further said there was “no place less connected than Saarc.”

On a light note, she made displayed humour on the not-so-straightforward travel route to the destination of the summit, stating, “To fly to Kathmandu, I have to first go to Doha to come to Kathmandu.”