A former US official is unhappy with the prospect of Pakistan becoming a negotiator in brokering peace between Iran and the US amid the ongoing war. Questioning Pakistan’s credibility, Colonel Douglas MacGregor (retired), a former US Army combatant, said Israel would not view the country as neutral in the negotiations and would “scoff” at the prospect of Islamabad being a venue for the talks.
Instead, the official suggested that India intervene and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi call US President Donald Trump.
Indian news agency ANI quoted him as saying: “If the Israelis heard that they were supposed to come to Islamabad for a meeting, I think they would laugh. This is ridiculous. Why should we trust anything these people say? This is not true for India. India is in a very good position this way.”
“More comfortable with India”
MacGregor, who served as an adviser to the US Secretary of Defense in Donald Trump’s first administration, finds that India is much better placed to provide assistance because Prime Minister Modi is globally respected and maintains working relationships with many international leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders in Tehran. He also referred to Prime Minister Modi’s recent official visit to Israel and said, “Israelis feel comfortable with him. We feel more comfortable with India.”
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Pakistan, on the other hand, has its own economic concerns to attend to, the US official said. “The Pakistanis offering help is a bit like a man in a burning building offering you a spare room in the building,” MacGregor said. “The Israelis will not view Pakistan in any way as neutral.”
He added: “They will see Pakistan as part of the problem. Why would you go to Pakistan to Islamabad to try to make a deal, if you will, to end the war? It’s impossible. It’s just ridiculous nonsense.”
“Pakistan is not civilized, and neither is India.”
The geopolitical risk consultant also said that Pakistan cannot be considered a civilized country, but this is not the case for India. “Pakistan is not what I would call a civilizational country. It is part of a civilizational complex. But India itself is one of these essential civilizational countries, which is sorely needed, you know, in the world today,” MacGregor said.
He said Prime Minister Modi should talk to his advisors and call President Trump amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia. “I think we would be better off if India exercised greater influence in a place like the Indian Ocean and its surrounding areas,” Colonel MacGregor said.
He said he could not expect direct negotiations between Iran, the United States and Israel, and said that if there was someone Trump would listen to at this stage, it would be Prime Minister Modi. “Prime Minister Modi can help with this. You have been through many things in your history. Many countries in the world have been victims of imperialism and colonialism…” MacGregor said, adding that he hoped India would intervene although it would not necessarily guarantee a miracle.
Pakistan has offered to be the lead negotiator in facilitating a potential agreement that could end the war between Iran and the United States. Several reports said earlier that US and Iranian officials may meet in Islamabad for talks.
Both Iran and the United States have their own set of demands to end the conflict. Iran had earlier responded negatively to the US 15-point ceasefire proposal, saying the war would only end according to Tehran’s “conditions and timetable,” a senior political security official told the state-run Press TV channel.
