If Pakistan wants, India can help fight terror, says Rajnath Singh

“I do not want to claim that terrorism has stopped, but no major terrorist incident has happened in the country in the last four-and-a-half years,” the Home Minister said.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. File

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that Pakistan could seek India’s help if it could not handle the fight against terrorism alone.

At a press conference in Jaipur, he said there had not been any major terrorist incident in the country in over four years of the NDA government. “I want to tell the Pakistani Prime Minister [Imran Khan] that if in Afghanistan, a fight can be carried out against terror and the Taliban with the help of the U.S., Pakistan can seek help against terrorism from India,” he said.

Mr. Singh also said terrorism and not Kashmir was the issue between the two countries.

Kashmir, he said, was an integral part of India.

The Home Minister accused the Congress of creating a crisis of distrust in politics and claimed there was a difference in their words and deeds.

“I do not want to claim that terrorism has stopped, but no major terrorist incident has happened in the country in the last four-and-a-half years,” he said.

Terrorism is confined only to Kashmir where also the situation is improving, Mr. Singh said, adding that panchayat elections in J&K is being conducted successfully.

“The government has brought Jammu and Kashmir into the political process. As far as terrorism is concerned, there is no second thought that it is Pakistan-sponsored,” the Home Minister said.

Naxal-related incidents have come down by 50-60% in the last four years, he said. It has reduced from 90 districts to only 8-9 districts and the problem, he predicted, will get eliminated in the next three to five years.

Hitting back at Congress president Rahul Gandhi on his statement that surgical strikes were conducted during the previous UPA regime also, the Home Minister sought to know why it was kept a secret.

“They are telling it today. Why the country was not informed earlier? If our Army had shown its valour and strength then should this country not have any knowledge of this matter,” he asked.

Responding to an alleged statement of AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi that ‘Allah will defeat Modi (and Rahul Gandhi),’ Mr. Singh said, “We cannot fight with the god of any religion. We do not want to fight like this as we do not believe in politics based on caste or religion. Our politics is based on justice and humanity.”