I have had the privilege of visiting Pakistan many times, mostly it was in connection with my official work. I must admit that I was always treated with great respect and I had the occasion of befriending many officers of the Pakistan army. These were always friendly talks but it gave me an insight into the Pakistani mind.
After discussion with my Pakistani friends, I was able to get an insight into what Pakistan thinks about India.We should not dismiss their thoughts and opinions as if they are of no consequence. It is vital to understand their psyche and the hurt they feel. Yes, some of it is true.I will briefly summarise the thoughts of the Pakistani vis a vis India.
Firstly, many Pakistani say that in 1943 there was no talk of Pakistan.That talk for Pakistan came after Gandhi and Nehru in a devious manner stopped the installation of Mohammad Ali Jinnah as the Prime Minister of India( this is corroborated by Leonard Moseley in his book "The last days of the Raj") In addition, the failure to give constitutional guarantees to Muslim minority by both Gandhi and Nehru sowed the seeds of Pakistan.Today generally in Pakistani this is cited as an example of discrimination against Muslims.
Secondly, during the 1971 crisis, India actively intervened in Bangladesh to break up Pakistan into two parts( I am afraid this is true). They say the Mukti Bahni on its own could not kill even a chicken. Yet Indian Army officers and soldiers were operating deep inside East Bengal in the guise of Mukti Bahini. When you are crying hoarse that Pakistani supported terrorists are operating in the Kashmir is really meaningless.The fact remains that the country which first started operations inside the territory of Pakistan was India when it sent soldiers inside East Pakistan disguised as Mukti Bahini to attack the Pakistan army and their soldiers at every opportunity.
It was India as per many Pakistani which opened the Pandora's box of cross-border terrorism. Pakistan also feels that it is India which is killing innocent Kashmiri youth and labeling all the killed Kashmiri youth as terrorists coming from Pakistan.This is a total lie. Pakistani also feel Indians are not sincere and they are consumed by hatred of Pakistan and Muslims in particular.
Pakistani view Narendra Modi as a murderer, as a man who got hundreds of Muslims killed during the 2003 riots in Gujarat. I have heard Bilal Bhutto talking on TV and saying that the perception of Pakistan about Modi is that he has blood on his hands. The feeling in Pakistan is that India and particular the RSS have not reconciled to the creation of Pakistan.
Pakistani point out that Sikh's and Hindus live in peace in Pakistan and are protected by constitutional rights. They point out that article 9 of the Pakistan constitution gives guarantees the religious minorities, right to life and property. As per them in India, no such constitutional guarantee exists for Muslims with the result that Hindu Muslim riots are frequent phenomena.
As things stand, I do not think there will be peace with Pakistan because Pakistani want to avenge the creation of East Pakistan. They say their country was broken by India and they will not rest till they pay back India in the same coin.
The old saying that to get a feel of the enemy one must get into his shoes. This is important and it is clear that we DID create Bangladesh and broke Pak into two. How will they forget that?