SLUG: Delhi playing good role
New Delhi
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday defended India’s approach to the ongoing West Asia conflict, stating that New Delhi is playing a very good role by actively engaging with regional leaders, while rejecting the Opposition’s allegations that Pakistan’s emerging role as a mediator reflects poorly on India’s foreign policy.
His remarks came as delegations from the US and Iran reached Islamabad for negotiations aimed at addressing the escalating tensions in West Asia.
Speaking to reporters after attending the National History Conference in New Delhi, Tharoor said Pakistan’s involvement stems from its own strategic compulsions, which differ significantly from India’s interests.
Pakistan has skin in the game. It shares a 900 km-long-border with Iran and also has a significant Shia population. If the conflict escalates, all the refugees will come to Pakistan. Pakistan’s stake is different in this game from ours. I don’t see any competition with Pakistan when it comes to this, he said.
Emphasising that the larger objective should be peace, Tharoor noted that India stands to benefit from stability in the region regardless of who facilitates it.
Peace should prevail, and everyone wants that. This war has severely affected India… We want a peace resolution to be reached. We all know how the energy supply is disrupted. Over one crore Indians are also stranded in Gulf nations amid this war… In view of all this, the end to this war is in India’s favour, no matter who mediates — be it Pakistan or someone else, he said.
Highlighting India’s diplomatic engagement, he added, India’s interest is very much in terms of peace. We should monitor the situation closely. Our Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Petroleum Minister are all in touch with the leaders of that region, and we should remain in constant touch… We should absolutely hope that peace comes as a result of these efforts.
It does not matter who brings about the peace. If peace comes, it does not matter who brought about it; however, if peace fails to come, we should analyse if there is anything we can do to contribute to a different outcome in future.
