New Delhi (NVI): Spilling the beans, former Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit has admitted that he had maintained relations with the separatist Kashmiri conglomerate Hurriyat Conference, pursuing his country’s “policy”, during his posting in New Delhi.
He also slammed former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for trying to improve relations with India and for making efforts to develop personal “equation” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In video comments uploaded on his Twitter handle, Basit said Sharif, who wanted good relations with India, had done certain things which had “harmed Pakistan and will harm it in future too”.
The former envoy to New Delhi, who also served as Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said Sharif’s “efforts and wish to improve ties with India was wrong”.
He said Sharif’s effort was develop personal equation with Modi but did not elaborate.
Sharif had responded positively when Modi became the Prime Minister for the first time in 2014 and invited his Pakistani counterpart for his swearing-in ceremony. Sharif attended the ceremony along with leaders of other SAARC countries.
“As regards Kashmir issue, I personally had differences with Nawaz Sharif on his approach. Our (Pakistan’s) policy has always been that we have to maintain relations with Hurriyat and I pursued that policy,” said Basit, who served as the Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi from 2014 to 2017.
He seemed to suggest that Sharif had asked him to dilute that “policy” with regard to Hurriyat as he said, “So much was said verbally to me but I always insisted that there should be written directives.”
Basit, during his stay in New Delhi, often invited Hurriyat leaders to the Pakistan High Commission and hosted them, despite India’s strong reservations.
Referring to Sharif’s cooperative approach towards India after Pathankot airbase was attacked by Pakistani terrorists on January 1,2016, Basit said, “We lodged FIR against some people in Gujranwala (in Pakistan) at the behest of India, which was not right (decision).”
The former envoy said Sharif also had personal business interests in his mind and wanted Indian investments.
“Nawaz Sharif had business interests. He has sugar mills here. I remember that his nephew Salman Shahbaz used to call me almost every month for visas. Salman would request for visas to certain persons. I would always tell him that the procedure should be followed.
“However, sometimes in emergency, one or two visas were issued to (Indian businessman) Sajjan Jindal, who was his (Salman’s) friend. He (Salman) wanted his (Jindal’s) investment in coal mines in Pakistan. It was certainly Nawaz Sharif’s wish,” Basit said.
