Let us take the case of Pakistan first because it is a neighbour and it is in the minds of many members who have made a mention. I read the speeches and I would like to assure hon. member, Shri Madhavrao Scindia. He sent to note yesterday that I should be present when he spoke, I am sorry I had to go away to attend a Cabinet Committee meeting urgently. But I have taken care to read his speech very carefully. About Pakistan he has made criticisms against our foreign policy. As he is a young and new member, I do not want to be critical about him. I certainly would like to appreciate his participation in the debate and the contribution he has made. I must tell him that he has not followed the real foreign policy principles behind what happened in the Simla Agreement ....
What happened in 1971 was something bigger than merely Indo-Pakistan relations. The result of the success of 1971 has to be seen in the emergence of a sovereign Bangladesh, in India’s effort to go to the aid of a struggling people who were striving hard to get independence to go to the aid of people who were being ruthlessly and brutally driven from their homes in their own country. This is the context in which you will have to see what happened later on. What was really being tried through Simla Agreement was not merely to solve the temporary issues that had given rise to particular problems. Naturally Pakistan along with many other friends have come to recognise Bangladesh. Then, we had to solve certain humanitarian problems involved in it. We had to solve the problem of the Pakistan prisoners-of-war. What the Simla Agreement has done is that it has certainly given a framework of detente in the sub-continent, if I may use that word. It is something which is a very basic. Ultimately you cannot I see a region in isolation if you are talking about world peace. It is something which is a very basic. Ultimately you cannot see a region in isolation if you are talking about world peace and friendly relations and co-existence in the whole world. You cannot think in other terms as far as your own region is concerned
