If we were in government, Indian military would be on the ground: Zaki

Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, who acted as Special Advisor to the President in former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government, has said that if Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) was in government, Indian military would be “on the ground” by now to defend GMR.

“If we were in the government, definitely we would have done it by now... definitely (asked for) their (Indian forces) to be on the ground,” Zaki told Indian papers.

“The attack on GMR contract is an Islamic fundamentalist issue,” Zaki told Indian reporters.

Zaki said that if the Maldives is taken over by the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based militant group that India blames for the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, he would have “no choice but to call in forces from India”.

Zaki noted that many senior members of Adhaalath Party, which is trying to reclaim the airport from GMR, are educated in Pakistan and spread religious extremism in the Maldives.

He said that the agreement with GMR was made in accordance with international best practices, and that efforts are under way by supporters of Nasheed to defend this agreement.

Zaki accused the current government of Maldives of “playing India against China”, and said that this is against the interest of SAARC.

As part of his current visit to India, Zaki has met Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.

When Zaki was asked if he was satisfied with the Indian government’s response to his visit, he said that he respects what the Indian officials (that he met) said.