'Modi making right moves on Indo-Pak ties, need to control Hindu radicals' - Hindustan Times
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'Modi making right moves on Indo-Pak ties, need to control Hindu radicals'

Hindustan Times | By, Chandigarh
Jun 18, 2014 09:17 PM IST

Praising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making the right moves ensuring peace and harmony in South Asia, Canada-based expert on international relations TV Paul has said the challenge before Modi is to control Hindu radical bodies who are opposed to the Indo-Pak peace process.

Praising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making the right moves ensuring peace and harmony in South Asia, Canada-based expert on international relations TV Paul has said the challenge before Modi is to control Hindu radical bodies who are opposed to the Indo-Pak peace process.

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Paul was at the Institute of Development and Communication here on Wednesday for a discussion on his book 'The warrior state - Pakistan in the contemporary world'.

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"Like Hindu radicals in India, the ISI and army are spoilers of peace in Pakistan and Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif should take them into confidence before indulging in bilateral talks with India," suggested Paul, adding that the formation of elected government for two consecutive terms is a welcome step for a country, which has fought four wars in 66 years of independent existence, out of which there was military rule during half the number of years.

"Military has prominent presence in Pakistan. The civil society and the ruling elite are so far unable to take up people's issues. The country should be run independently without foreign aid," said Paul. He suggested that India, Pakistan and China should unite for stronger trade relations and called for the need to strengthen SAARC and SAFTA.

Talking about nuclear warheads placed by Pakistan close to the Indian border, Paul said it was due to fear psychosis as the neighbouring country was never stable and was also keeping these warheads as a status symbol.

"Despite having devoted considerable energy to its national security over the past 65 years, Pakistan remains a hotbed of international terrorism and nuclear proliferation," he said.

Speaking about his book, Paul said it is an account of how such an acutely troubled and unstable country became the way it is, as well as the forces that keep it mired in instability.

In Pakistan, military has conspicuous failure and it has been at the centre of a series of geopolitical crisis struggles - US-Russia rivalry, India-Pak struggle, and most recently the post-9/11 wars especially in Afghanistan. Paul observed that Pakistan always prioritises military at the expense of political and economic development.

Former UPSC chairman Gurbachan Jagat, IDC director Pramod Kumar and executive editor of The Tribune, Kanwar Sandhu also spoke on the occasion.

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