New Delhi: In a three-hour podcast with AI researcher and podcaster Lex Fridman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the complex ties with Pakistan who he accused of waging a prolonged proxy war against India.
Despite hopes for peaceful coexistence after Partition, Pakistan repeatedly chose hostility, he said.
Referring to Pakistan as the “epicentre of terrorism,” Modi said wherever terror strikes in the world, its trail often leads back to Islamabad. He also pointed out that Osama bin Laden was ultimately found hiding in Pakistan.
“The world has recognized that in a way terrorism and the terrorist mindset are deeply rooted in Pakistan,” he said, adding that India has repeatedly urged its neighbor to abandon state-sponsored terrorism. “Don’t mistake this for ideology. What kind of ideology thrives on bloodshed and the export of terror, and we are not the sole victims of this menace,” he said.
During the podcast, released Sunday, Modi also recalled inviting Pakistan’s then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif to his 2014 swearing-in ceremony, terming it an “attempt to improve bilateral relations”.
Describing it as an unprecedented diplomatic gesture of goodwill, he said, “The very people who once questioned my approach to foreign policy were taken aback when they learned I had invited all SAARC heads of state.”
He also said that then-President Pranab Mukherjee had acknowledged the significance of that moment in his memoir, calling it a reflection of India’s clear and confident foreign policy.
But Modi admitted that neither he nor India got “the desired outcome”.
“We sincerely hope that wisdom prevails upon them and they choose the path of peace. I believe even the people of Pakistan long for peace,” he added.
On a question about the India-Pakistan cricket rivalry and who has the better team, Modi responded by saying that sports “connect people on a deeper level” and that he is not an expert on sporting techniques.
“Only those who specialize in the technical aspects can judge which techniques are superior and who the best players really are. But sometimes the results speak for themselves,” he said, referring to India’s historic third ICC Champions Trophy win last month.
Since he became Prime Minister, Modi has visited Pakistan only once, on 25 December, 2015, when he made an unscheduled stop in Lahore to meet his then counterpart Nawaz Sharif. The visit was seen as a goodwill gesture, as it coincided with Sharif’s birthday and his granddaughter’s wedding. But relations between the two countries soured soon after, following the Pathankot terror attack in January 2016.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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