NEW DELHI: Addressing his prayer gathering on Friday evening [Sept 26], Mr Gandhi said that he had been an opponent of all warfare; but if there was no other way of securing justice from Pakistan, if Pakistan persistently refused to see its proved error and continued to minimise it, the India Government would have to go to war against it. He added: “War is not a joke; no one wants war; that way lies destruction.” Mr Gandhi said that he would never advise anyone to put up with injustice. If all Hindus were annihilated for a just cause he could not mind it. If there was a war, he stressed Hindus in Pakistan could not be fifth columnists there. … “If they are not loyal to Pakistan, they should leave it.”

Similarly, Mr Gandhi said, the Muslim whose loyalty was with Pakistan should not stay in the Indian Union. To secure justice for the Hindus and Sikhs was the function of the Government. … He added that he would go to Lahore, Rawalpindi … and other places in Western Punjab. … He would not rest till every Hindu and Sikh who had been driven away from Pakistan returned to his home with honour and dignity. — News agencies

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2022