New Delhi

Talking tough on Pakistan, India’s National security Advisor, Ajit Doval said “we cannot have war and peace at the choice of our adversary.”

He was replying to a question on whether it’s good for India’s security to not talk to Pakistan in the light of a doctrinal shift in the Modi government policy on our immediate neigbour. His response should also be seen as a rebuff to Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto- Zardari’s recent rant about normalizing relations with India.

Bilawal has said that it’s in the interests of Pakistan to normalize relations with India and resume trade with its neighbour.

On the question about India’s relation with Pakistan, Doval told ANI in an exclusive interview that “When our core interests are involved there is no question of peace at any cost.”

He said, “If we have to have peace, we will decide when, with whom, time, and on what term we want to have peace.”

He said, “There has got to be pace. We want very good relations with our neighbour including Pakistan. We would like to have good normal relations with them (Pakistan) but certainly, the tolerance threshold for terrorism (In India) is very low.”

Referring to the larger policy he said, “We certainly would not like to make our citizens be sitting ducks for the terrorists to come and..”

He said it was due to the Modi government’s clear policy on terrorism and Pakistan that except for Kashmir, there is no terrorism in India. “Thank God In the last 8 years this country has not seen any terrorist attack except for in Jammu and Kashmir where a proxy war is on; it has been a different kind of proxy war.”

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He said just before that (Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister) from 2005 to 2014 we have had attacks in Bombay, Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Ahmedabad – the country has gone through the whole range of terrorism.

“If we were not firm if we were not decisive and we didn’t have clarity that we will fight it...

Doval declared, “We will not beg for peace at any terms.”