‘Pak relationship with South Asian countries is indispensable’

Islamabad:Afrasiab Mehdi Hashmi, former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and Deputy High Commissioner to India, has said that Pakistan is a holy land and equally sacred for all the major religions of South Asia and beyond.

Mr Hashmi was speaking during a talk here at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS). Mr Hashmi said that the holy book of Hindus, Rigveda, was revealed and composed in Pakistani Punjab. The epic Mahabharata was recited for the first time in Taxila, Pakistan. For Sikhs, Pakistan is a holy land as it is the birth and death place of their Guru. For Buddhists, their Guru, Padma Sambhava, a god in Buddhism, was born in Swat.

He regretted that India's hegemonic and interventionist approach to its neighbours hindered Pakistan's relations with South Asian states. He said that Hindu pundits view their neighboring countries with a sense of ownership, noting that India's worldview, including its life, religion, and ideology, is rooted in Hindu secularism, shaped by Hindu values and systems.

He noted that while Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are perceived as independent sovereign states, India consistently exerted influence and pressure on them. For instance, in Bhutan, India stationed a full corps of its army, commanded by a lieutenant general, despite Bhutan's UN membership. Similarly, Nepal, a predominantly Hindu nation, is influenced by India’s stance that Buddha was born there. He added that in the late 1980s, India faced accusations of trying to overthrow the Maldives government. He also highlighted the Tamil ethnic connections between South India and Sri Lanka. Mr Hashmi highlighted that while India culturally influences Bangladesh, religion connects it more closely to Pakistan. He noted India's support during the 1971 conflict and the subsequent narrative of 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendering, though the actual number was only 34,000, as stated by Gen Niazi and referenced by Sharmila Bose, he asserted.

'Unfortunately, Indian intelligence undermined Bangladesh's intellectual foundations by destroying literature related to the independence movement and key figures like Mr Jinnah, severing the new generation's ties to Pakistan', he stressed. While remarking on India's belief that 'Pakistan is inconsequential to India,' he stated that this perspective contradicts the reality that 80 per cent of India's armed troops are stationed near the western border rather than focusing on China. Mr Hashmi stated that the RSS under Modi believes in Akhand Bharat, which was a lost glory as the partition of India took away the spirit of Hindu pride when the Indus Valley was transferred to Pakistan, he added.