Srinagar, June 15: BJP State Spokesperson Danish Bhat, while responding to the recent remarks of the RSS Chief that channels of dialogue with Pakistan should remain open, said that India has never been opposed to engagement in principle. India has consistently demonstrated the political maturity and strategic confidence to pursue peace through diplomacy. It is Pakistan that has repeatedly sabotaged every such initiative by treating terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
History leaves little room for ambiguity. The Delhi Lahore bus initiative undertaken by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji was intended to transform bilateral relations and build mutual trust. Pakistan’s response was the Kargil conflict, followed by the attack on the Indian Parliament and a continuing campaign of cross border terrorism. Every sincere Indian attempt at reconciliation has been answered with hostility, duplicity, and violence.
Bhat said diplomacy cannot be separated from accountability. A state that shelters, finances, or enables terrorist networks cannot credibly claim to be committed to peace. Dialogue is built on trust, and trust cannot survive when one side continues to export terrorism across the border.
The memories of Pulwama remain etched in the conscience of every Indian, while the recent Pahalgam attack has once again demonstrated that the infrastructure of terrorism operating from Pakistani soil remains intact. The planners, handlers, and perpetrators of these attacks continue to evade justice under Pakistan’s protection. If Islamabad genuinely seeks peace, its first responsibility is to dismantle this terror ecosystem, prosecute those responsible, and hand over those wanted by India for heinous acts of terrorism.
Until then, India will continue to exercise its sovereign right to defend its citizens and territorial integrity through every means available under international law. The Balakot airstrikes established that terrorist sanctuaries beyond the border would not enjoy immunity merely because of geography. Operation Sindoor further underlines India’s resolve that terrorism will invite consequences and that national security cannot be compromised for symbolic diplomacy.
The BJP fully agrees with the broader sentiment expressed by the RSS Chief that there are sections within Pakistan who reject the ideological foundations of the Two Nation Theory and aspire for a different future. The growing public unrest in Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir reflects increasing dissatisfaction with decades of political suppression, economic neglect, and denial of fundamental rights by the Pakistani establishment. India has consistently maintained that the people of PoJK deserve dignity, democratic rights, and freedom from repression.
Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is not a peripheral issue to be indefinitely postponed through diplomatic convenience. It remains Indian territory under illegal occupation and constitutes one of the foremost national priorities of the Republic of India. The restoration of PoJK is not merely a territorial question but a matter of constitutional commitment, historical justice, and the aspirations of its people.
Bhat further stated that India’s willingness to engage should never be mistaken for strategic naivety. Peace cannot be built while terrorism remains an accepted instrument of policy. Any expectation that India should negotiate while Pakistani soil continues to be used for orchestrating violence against Indian citizens is intellectually untenable and strategically unsustainable.
“Meaningful dialogue is impossible as long as Pakistan treats terrorism as state policy. The burden of creating conditions for peace rests squarely on Islamabad. It must first abandon terrorism as an instrument of statecraft and demonstrate that commitment through verifiable action. Until then, India will remain steadfast in protecting its citizens, responding decisively to every act of terror, and pursuing its unwavering national commitment towards Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which continues to occupy a central place in the nation’s strategic and constitutional vision.” Bhat said.
