NEW DELHI: As
Pakistan stares at another spell of uncertainty in the wake of the ongoing strife between the army and civilian government, India on Thursday said it would prefer democracy in that country but was willing to talk to work with any dispensation to normalize ties.
Foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai said irrespective of one's liking, India has to find a way to get along and manage a normal relationship with Pakistan irrespective of who is in government there. "We will obviously prefer to deal with a democratic government in Pakistan. But we will learn and live with any kind of government that Pakistan has," he told at an interactive session with participants of
Jagriti Yatra 2011 here. Mathai was responding to a question from a participant whether a "weak democracy" in Pakistan is a problem for India to deal with it. "We have found that democracies don't go on war.... Generally, in any democracy, the government of the day tends to be focused on the most priorities of the people and those that we know from our own experiences that priorities like the day-to-day problems, development issues and sometimes that of survival," he said. The FS said India has had a "chequered history" in dealing with Pakistan in the past.
"Be that as it may, we can choose
friends but you can't choose neighbours. Whether you like it or you don't like it, you need to find a way to get along and manage a normal relationship irrespective of who is in government in Pakistan," he added.
