Binoo Joshi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a much-awaited congratulatory call to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf Chairperson Imran Khan who emerged as top in the race in the recently held elections in Pakistan with a profound message of peace in the neighborhood.
Modi’s congratulatory call was awaited ever since the Pakistan election results had established the unassailable lead of Imran Khan’s PTI in the polls held on July 25 . Nothing more is important for the peoples of the two countries than the kind of relationship their leaders foster for them.
From the Indian side , two sentences of Prime Minister as tweeted by the Foreign Office spokesman Raveesh Kumar, hold unique significance .
But, let it be said that Modi’s call to PTI chairperson on his victory in itself is more than the customary congratulatory calls made on such occasions , especially after the results choose a particular leader to choose the country. In this context, it is clear that Imran is the leader who has been chosen by the electorate Imran has also declared now that he would be taking oath as Prime Minister on August 11 .
So Modi chose the moment when it was clear that Imran Khan would be the Prime Minister of Pakistan . On Monday afternoon Imran declared the date of his ascending to the aspired position , which he must have done only after consulting the coalition partners and the army that had backed him to get him this slot . The same evening Modi congratulated him on his victory .
Modi waited for the confirmation of the political credibility of Imran Khan to lead Pakistan and only after that he placed the call , which made it clear that he wants to see the other side on the firm footing before he unveils his message of peace and stability.
Imran had listed Kashmir as a “ core issue” between the two countries during the course of his July 26th victory speech . Modi ‘s call did not mention all this, but it did underline the fact that there was a need for Pakistan to deepen its roots of democracy. And when Modi unveiled his vision of peace in the entire neighbourhood, he was clearly placing riders on Pakistan’s would be Prime Minister to set his own house in order and stop troubling the neighbours and the peace would come as a natural consequence.
The Indian Prime Minister has already walked several miles to cover the distance of trust building in trust deficit atmosphere. In fact, he burnt his fingers, too, politically and diplomatically when his peace overtures in an unorthodox manner were responded with terror attacks by terrorists sponsored by Pakistani establishment
All this needs to change and it must change the peace has to walk the talk.