New Delhi:
Congress MP Manish Tewari on Friday expressed concerns over the call by 117 eminent personalities from India and Pakistan to resume dialogue and reopen diplomatic channels. Pointing to Pakistan’s long history of supporting terrorism and India’s past attempts at peace, he told NDTV: “The fundamental question is: ‘Dialogue at what cost?'”
“Since 1991, be it the Narasimha Rao government or H.D. Deve Gowda, I.K. Gujral or Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dr. Manmohan Singh or now Narendra Modi… each of them worked hard with Pakistan. We had a comprehensive dialogue, behind-the-scenes negotiations… but every time we tried, Pak responded with a terrorist attack,” he said.
Highlighting the huge complex of “military jihad” built by Islamabad over the years, the opposition leader also asked: “Under such circumstances, has Pak given any verifiable assurance that he will dismantle this infrastructure of terror?”
“President (Pervez) Musharraf made this commitment publicly after the attack on Parliament… but subsequently, when Prime Minister Vajpayee went to Islamabad (for the January 2004 summit), this commitment was rescinded.”
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Similar commitments were made and rescinded to Prime Ministers Singh and Modi, he said.
“Pac fails every time. So the questions are: a) what do you (specifically the 117 signatories) want to talk about? And b) do you really want to interact with Puck when this specter of terror hangs over our heads?
Tewari also recalled the April 2025 Pahalgam attack.
“Ultimately, no matter how well-intentioned these people were, and most of them interacted with Park in their professional capacities, if they go back decades, they will understand the nature of the beast.”
The Congress leader said the Indian government’s position has always been clear and became even clearer after the Pahalgam attack when the Indus Water Treaty was suspended.
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Asked about the timing of the letter, which comes as Islamabad, which relies heavily on the Indus and its tributaries, is increasing diplomatic pressure to restore water sharing, Tewari replied: “…terror and negotiations cannot go hand in hand…blood and water cannot flow together. India will not differentiate between terrorists and the masters who organize these attacks.”
“There are two billion people who call South Asia home and want peace,” he said. – But ultimately the dialogue is with a weapon of terror aimed at our heads. I don’t think it’s possible.”
He said the Indian government and people must make a “fundamental assessment” of what is required of their Pakistani counterparts, starting with stopping the export of terror.