Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Oct 04
India and Pakistan should resume sustained dialogue instead of allowing disputes to remain frozen, former Indian minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Sunday, suggesting talks could even be held at the Attari-Wagah border.
Speaking at the fifth Halla Bolle conclave in Srinagar, Aiyar criticised the government’s refusal to engage with Pakistan while being willing to carry out military operations.
“We seem to have the courage to go into surgical strikes with them. Why don’t we have the courage to sit across the table with them?” he said.
Aiyar proposed setting up a table on the border so delegations from both countries could meet without either side formally crossing into the other’s territory.
He said issues on which agreement was possible should be implemented, while unresolved matters could be set aside for later discussion.
“Whenever the atmosphere changes, then we will take up these remaining issues as well,” he said.
Aiyar argued that maintaining diplomatic engagement was preferable to allowing disagreements to dominate relations.
“Sensible countries talk to each other,” he said.
He also called for greater unity among opposition parties in India, saying the non-Hindutva political parties should consolidate their position through the INDIA bloc.
Aiyar said stronger opposition unity could have produced a different outcome in the 2024 general election and potentially altered the political approach to Jammu and Kashmir.
He said dialogue should also involve political voices from Srinagar and Jammu and include wider public opinion.
Aiyar separately criticised Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, calling his conduct “disgraceful”.
He said the process was illegal and questioned the role played by the other election commissioners.
His comments followed reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections to decisions concerning the SIR process.
Aiyar, however, disagreed with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s call for dissolving Parliament and state assemblies and holding fresh elections using ballot papers.
He said the Election Commission had functioned autonomously until recently but argued that the process for appointing commissioners lacked transparency.
