India would have offered Pakistan more aid than IMF if ties were better: Rajnath Singh

SRINAGAR: Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said India would have offered more aid to Pakistan, had the neighbouring country maintained good relations with it.

Addressing an election rally in the Gurez assembly segment of Bandipora district in north Kashmir, Singh said India would have given a larger bailout package to Pakistan than that sought by Islamabad from IMF, had the neighbouring nation maintained friendly relations with Delhi.

“Modi ji had, in 2014-15, announced a special package for development of J&K, which has now reached Rs 90,000 crore. The amount is much bigger than what Pakistan was seeking from the IMF (as bailout package),” Singh said.

Singh referred to former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee’s famous statement that “we can change friends, but we cannot change the neighbours.”

“My Pakistani friends, why have strained relations, we are neighbours. If we had good relations, we would have given you more money than the IMF,” he added.

Singh said while the Centre gives money to J&K for development, Pakistan has been misusing financial aid for a long time. “It seeks money from other countries to run a terrorism factory on its soil,” he added.

He said India would crossover and respond if Pakistan carried out any terror attack on Indian soil. “Pakistan, which has used terrorism as a tool against India, has been isolated at international fora with some of its trusted allies too stepping back. Even Turkey, which used to support Pakistan, has not mentioned Kashmir at the UNGA,” he said.

“Whenever we have investigated terror acts, we have found Pakistani involvement. Our successive govts have tried to make Pakistan understand that they should stop terror camps but to no avail. Pakistan is frustrated after the revocation of Article 370 in Kashmir and is making attempts to revive the days of terror. They do not want democracy to take root here. India is strong enough to take on Pakistan on its soil,” he said.

Reiterating the promises made in the BJP’s election manifesto, Singh said, “As the defence minister, I assure you that if (BJP candidate) Faqeer Mohammad Khan wins, more people from Gurez will be recruited in the Indian Army.”

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