(Image via intoday.in)
Boxed into a corner by a clever Sushma Swaraj where it was forced to either eat crow by coming to the meeting table on India’s terms or be the bad guy and call off the talks, Pakistan once again found a way to wriggle out. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has deputed Abhishek Manu Singhvi to take the place of Sartaz Aziz and hold talks with Indian NSA Ajit Doval as scheduled.
Announcing the decision in a press conference late last night, Pak NSA Sartaz Aziz said, “I hit upon this idea last night while watching my friend Barkha’s ‘The buck stops here’ on NDTV. While our spokesperson was getting badgered by the other panelists, Abhishek Manu Singhvi was criticizing the Indians like a man possessed! He was making all the points that the Pak spokesperson should have been making, and with some style, if I may say so! We immediately decided to ask him to represent us in our meeting with the Indian NSA.”
With this move, Pakistan has both registered its protest by withdrawing Sartaz Aziz, and played its part in the Indo-Pak peace process by participating in the talks as planned. The bewildered Indian establishment clearly didn’t foresee this scenario. “I don’t know what to say. I suppose it is okay. I’m happy to meet him, as long as he comes to the meeting wearing pants,” shrugged Ajit Doval.
Hurriyat leaders who had flown down to Delhi to meet up with Sartaz Aziz too seemed pleased with the development. “We were a bit disappointed that we weren’t able to meet Aziz saab, but meeting up with a Congress spokesperson like Manu Singhvi or Manish Tewari is the next best thing. We requested Singhvi saab for an appointment and he was graceful enough to grant us an audience,” said separatist leader Shabir Shah.
Minutes after the development, Abhishek Manu Singhvi received a package at his residence with the words “ULTIMATE PROOF” scrawled on it in bold font, and a tape inside that played a conversation between a Times Now reporter and Dawood Ibrahim’s wife in Karachi.
“WE HAVE SENT YOU THE ULTIMATE PROOF THAT DAWOOD IS IN PAKISTAN. WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE NOW, MISTER ABHISHEK MANU SINGHVI?” Arnab Goswami later demanded on the Newshour.