‘Why did BJP Negotiate Ceasefire, Sign Joint Statement With Musharraf...": Shashi Tharoor Hits Back on Criticism

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New Delhi: Why did the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) negotiate a ceasefire and sign a joint statement with former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, if he was `anathema to all patriotic Indians`, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Monday. Tharoor`s remarks came while hitting out at criticism from the BJP drawn at him after his tweet condoling the demise of the former Pakistan military ruler by calling him a "real force for peace".

"Question to BJP leaders frothing at the mouth: if Musharraf was anathema to all patriotic Indians, why did the BJP government negotiate a ceasefire with him in 2003 & sign the joint Vajpayee-Musharraf statement of 2004? Was he not seen as a credible peace partner then?" Tharoor said in his tweet. Earlier, Tharoor had said, "I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die.

"I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy and was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace w/India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace, as did we," Tharoor said.

Tharoor on Sunday condoled the demise of the former Pakistan military ruler stating that though he was once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace between 2002-2007."`Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease`: once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007.

I met him annually in those days at the UN and found him smart, engaging and clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," Tharoor said in a tweet. Tharoor`s post brought fierce criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar hit out at Tharoor saying his post "best describes Cong" (Congress).

Chandrashekhar while taking to Twitter, slammed the party for finding peace in a person who "inflicted terror a backstabbing conflict and tortured our soldiers in violation of every International law"."Nothing like a proper military thrashing for Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals to become a "force for peace" and develop "clear strategic thinking".

Not withstanding many lives lost n Intl laws violated n harm caused all around, these Generals will have their admiring fans in India (sic)," Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote in his tweet. In another tweet, Chandrasekhar said, "That a former Cong Foreign Min (a party that refused to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas till 2010) wud think that a Pak General who inflicted terror, a backstabbing conflict n tortured our Soldiers in violation of every Intl law, wud be a "force for peace" - best describes Cong.

"Musharraf passed away on Sunday at a hospital in the UAE after a prolonged illness, reported Daily Pakistan. Musharraf was Pakistan`s army chief during the Kargil war between India and Pakistan.

The conflict between the two countries is believed to have been orchestrated by Musharraf without the knowledge of the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Musharraf was the tenth president of Pakistan after a successful military coup in 1999. He served as the 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan (CJCSC) from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th top general from 1998 to 2007.