The Congress has distanced itself from Navjot Sidhu's comment (File)
Calling it a "long-term" solution to tackle terrorism, Congress leader Navjot Sidhu on Thursday called for a dialogue with Pakistan. On the hostilities between the two countries on the Line of Control, Mr Sidhu said any escalation would result in "irreparable loss" and "both nations going to a point of no return". He also praised Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan--who he calls his friend--for promising the release of the Indian pilot, captured by Pakistan on Wednesday.
In the India-Pakistan clash of fighter jets on Wednesday, an Indian MiG 21 had shot down a state-of-the-art F-16 Pakistan jet. In the process, India also lost a MiG plane. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman ejected and parachuted into Pakistani side of the LoC. He was captured by Pakistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday invited India for a dialogue. "I ask India: With the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in Modi's," he had said.
Mr Sidhu was panned by the opposition for his comment that an entire country (Pakistan) cannot be blamed for the Pulwama terror attack, in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed.
"I stand by my conviction that dialogue and diplomatic pressure will count for a great deal in seeking a long-term solution to the presence and practice of terror outfits that operate within and across the border," the cricketer-turned-politician said in a two-page statement titled "We have a choice.
"The solution to terror is peace, development and progress and not unemployment, hatred and fear," he added.
Mr Sidhu said that he stood deeply by the principle that a community cannot be blamed for the actions of a few.
On both sides of the border, tacticians are planning for the worst, he said, adding that they must think the worst of one another, because only in thinking the worst, do they believe that they can protect and defend.
"But this belief is a mirage," he said.
He said, "Fear has been among us these last days, an unwelcome guest".
"I stand by my country. I am the son of a freedom fighter, and the true test of my patriotism is courage. I stand against the fear that keeps many of us silent," he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Sidhu's party, the Congress has distanced itself from Mr Sidhu's comment. "If Sidhu has an opinion that is his personal and not of the Congress'," party spokesperson Manish Tewari was quoted as saying by the news agency IANS.
"Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, captured by Pakistan on Wednesday, will be released tomorrow as a "gesture of peace", Imran Khan declared today, signaling a pullback hours after the US called for immediate steps towards de-escalation.
The Indian Air Force, however, brushed aside the "gesture", saying it was an obligation laid down by Geneva Convention.
With inputs from PTI, IANS