Expressing concern over large-scale violence in Pakistan following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, MP and National Conference chief Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said that instability in the neighbourhood is bad for the region as a whole.
“An unstable Pakistan is dangerous for us. We need a stable Pakistan which is essential for peace in the sub-continent,” Abdullah told reporters.
It is not for us to tell Pakistan how to manage its democracy and its politics but we hope that cooler heads prevail, the rule of law is established and democratic institutions are strengthened. Pakistan is our neighbour and we hope something better will come and people will have a peaceful life, he said.
Abdullah said that it has been a tragedy for Pakistan for a long time, unfortunately, they have a checkered history right from the time of independence. The first Prime Minister Liyaqat Ali Khan was assassinated. There is a constant history of assassinations. Prime Minister Zulfqar Ali Bhatto was hanged and his daughter Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. “Unfortunately for us in India unstable Pakistan is dangerous for us,” said Abdullah.
“Pakistan is economically in a very desperate condition. Also, recent floods in Balochistan have put that country in a miserable situation. I can’t tell you the condition of the people in Balochistan. What we see from the media because I am not there. It is very vital that the country must stabilize itself,” he said.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti tweeted; “In Pakistan, democracy lies in tatters. Perhaps the only silver lining is an independent judiciary & a fierce media holding the establishment accountable unlike the world’s largest democracies”.
“While political representatives are being arrested on frivolous grounds, the other institutions necessary for check and balance has not been subverted yet”, she added.