To use force is a realistic approach: India's General Singh at WION Dubai summit

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To use force is a realistic approach: Indias General Singh at WION Dubai summit

Dubai - Former ambassador of Pakistan said the majority of the Pakistani population have been victims of terrorism.

Dhanusha Gokulan

Published: Wed 20 Feb 2019, 9:48 PM

Last updated: Wed 20 Feb 2019, 11:51 PM

The former Indian army chief, Gen Bikram Singh, said India should drop its "idealistic agenda" when it comes to relations with Pakistan over "state-funded terrorism".

Speaking at a session on 'uprooting state-sponsored terrorism in South Asia' at the WION Global Summit in Dubai on Wednesday, Singh said: "There needs to be a more realist approach. We need to use force."

"I also believe countries of the region (sub-continent) should refrain from bringing religion into politics, as religious leaders will then start dictating terms to the leaders, which is detrimental to the growth of democracy."

Joining Gen Singh, a group of former diplomats and experts voiced their concerns over the situation in Pakistan during the session. The group included Husain Haqqani, a Pakistani journalist, academic, political activist and former ambassador of Pakistan to Sri Lanka and the United States.

Pakistanis are terror victims

Haqanni said the majority of the Pakistani population have been victims of terrorism, and the country must do what it takes to solve the menace as it is detrimental to economic and business development.

He said: "A total of 200 million people of Pakistan are victims of terror.

"The country has the highest infant mortality rate, has an issue with literacy, and human development has suffered."

The former diplomat also blamed misguided national goals as one of the reasons for the country's terror problem. Haqqani said South Asia is not integrated in terms of free trade or travel.

"In the end, Pakistan will have to end terrorism because it is in the country's interest to end it, not because India wants it," Haqqani said.

Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, former high commissioner of India to Pakistan, said: "As far as India is concerned, the military option is never off the table."

He also said the rule of the army in Pakistan must be replaced with elected structures.

"The average man and the Pakistan business community do not want it." He also suggested that the country needs to shift its attention to development.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com