'India would be least bothered by withdrawal of MFN status'

New Delhi: As the martyrs of the recent attack in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir are being paid homage, Defence expert and Former Brigadier of the Indian Army V Mahalingam is of the opinion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done it right by giving a free hand to the armed forces.

ETV Bharat spoke exclusively to Mahalingam on the Pulwama attack and the withdrawal of 'Most Favoured Nation' (MFN) status from Pakistan.

Mahalingam lauded the statement given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he said that the armed forces are free to choose the place and time of the attack.

"The Prime Minister has done the right thing by giving a free hand to the armed forces and now the armed forces are expected to calculate and decide the further course of actions. The army needs to have a sensible and calculated approach which will be most effective in India's attempt to provide a befitting reply to the enemies", he added.

Speaking on India withdrawing the MFN status from Pakistan, Mahalingam said that India is going to be least bothered by this move but Pakistan is going to be affected very badly.

"They are already mounted under immense debt and this would further choke them. India gave the status to Pakistan back in 1996 and Pakistan never gave India the same status", he said.

Mahalingam also slammed the talks of "Naya Pakistan", which is being seen as an attempt of an image revamp by the newly elected Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to convey to the world that Pakistan is seeking peace.

"I don't understand what is this talk of Naya Pakistan. They are trying big time to portray the image of being anti-terror but their actions show otherwise. This recent attack has clearly shown that nothing has changed and Pakistan is not looking for peace", Mahalingam added.