"Government With Double Face": MJ Akbar On Why Talks With Pak Is A "Bluff"
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Former union minister MJ Akbar criticised Pakistan, calling its government double-faced and deceptive during an Indian event in Copenhagen. He emphasised that talks with Pakistan are mere bluffs, claiming they exploit discussions to prepare for terrorism.
New Delhi:
Former union minister MJ Akbar, part of the all-party delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, took a "snake" jibe at Pakistan, saying the country has a government with a "forked tongue" and is "double-faced". Speaking to an Indian crowd in Copenhagen, the former minister of state for external affairs referred to the talks Pakistan has been pushing India for after New Delhi's strong measures against Islamabad in view of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people died.
"Pakistan has a government with a double face, which face do we talk to? Pakistan has a government with a forked tongue, whose tongue do we address? Pakistan has talks with a poisoned tongue...Who gets hurt when a tongue is poisoned? A snake is never killed by its own poison," Mr Akbar said.
He added, "And yet we have the moral courage to say that we will talk on the issues that matter. We will not waste our time on talks which have become an excuse. All talks with Pakistan are simply a period which Pakistan exploits in order to prepare itself for the next terrorist attack. The talks are nothing but a bluff."
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's actions, Mr Akbar said, "We now have a leader who has actually called out Pakistan's bluff...Nobody has made as much effort to bring a nation with a genetic disorder to its senses."
#WATCH | Copenhagen, Denmark | Former Union Minister MJ Akbar says, "Even well-meaning friends will ask you, why don't you talk to Pakistan? Tell them Pakistan has a government with a double face, which face do we talk to? Pakistan has a government with a forked tongue; whose… pic.twitter.com/VJZ7rcvBK4
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2025
Mr Akbar is a part of the multi-party delegation, which includes BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress MPs Ghulam Ali Khatana and Amar Singh, and Ambassador Pankaj Saran. It is led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The Centre has formed many delegations as a part of its diplomatic outreach program after Operation Sindoor - a targeted military strike on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack. The all-party delegations are visiting key partner countries and the UN Security Council.
According to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, the delegations are projecting India's consensus and a resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations.
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