Pakistan made its entry in the ongoing election campaign in India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying Congress party has become a ‘mureed’(disciple) of Pakistan. The immediate provocation was, former Pakistan Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain retweeted a video showing Rahul attacking Modi in his rally, and Fawad commenting “Rahul on fire”. The BJP immediate reacted and asked whether Congress is planning to contest election in Pakistan. Fawad Chaudhry responded by saying, Pakistanis should support Rahul Gandhi because Modi’s policies do not suit Pakistan. Rahul Gandhi refused to comment, but on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lambasted the Congress. Modi, in one of his Gujarat rallies, said, “Pakistan is crying because Congress is dying here. Leaders in Pakistan are praying for Congress. Pakistan is eager to make the shehzada (prince) the next prime minister. The partnership between Pakistan and Congress has been exposed. The country’s enemies want a weak government, and not a strong government in India.” Fawad Chaudhry reacted by saying, “it seems Modi is upset with my statement, personally I don’t know Rahul Gandhi, but I do not like Modi government’s policies and that is the reason why we in Pakistan should support Rahul Gandhi. “ Later, he took a strident tone by tweeting: “If Modi g and BJP can be so rattled by my one tweet, imagine what Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and enlightened and progressive Hindus together can do? These classes must unite to defeat narrative of division and hatred. Support anyone who can stop menace of Modi, be it Rahul or Mumta Baner Ji (sic) or Kejrewal (sic)..give your support to one who can win against Modi for safer region and peace..defeat hate monger BJP.” Rajasthan Congress leader Ashok Gehlot reacted to Modi’s remarks by saying, “whenever elections take place, BJP brings in Pakistan. All these are poll gimmicks of BJP and these won’t have any effect.” Congress leader Rashid Alvi said, Modi should first explain his relationship with Pakistan, why Dr Manmohan Singh, despite being PM, never visited Pakistan, but Modi landed in Pakistan soon after he became PM. There is nothing secret about the relationship between Modi and Pakistan. When he became Prime Minister, Modi extended his hand of friendship, and invited Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend his first swearing-in ceremony. At Nawaz Sharif’s invitation, Modi suddenly visited Lahore and showed to the world that he gave full opportunity to Pakistan to improve bilateral relations. But Pakistan did not mend its aways and carried out terror attacks on our air bases. Twice, our armed forces had to enter their territory and carry out surgical strikes. First time, our forces carried out surgical strike on land, and the second time, after Pulwama, our air force bombed terror hideouts deep inside Pakistan. This, in short, is Modi’s record and his relationship with Pakistan. Let us try to understand Congress party’s relations with Pakistan. A former minister in Congress government Mani Shanker Aiyar went to Pakistan and sought Pakistan’s help to defeat Modi in 2014 elections. Ten years later, a former minister of Pakistan is openly saying that Pakistan must support Rahul Gandhi. Fawad Chaudhry praised him by writing “Rahul on fire” on social media. Needless to say, who gave the opportunity to Modi to attack Congress on Pakistan issue. Modi never leaves such chances. If you throw a full toss, Modi will hit a sixer, surely. It would have been better if Rahul Gandhi had state that he did not need Pakistan’s support, and our elections are internal matter. But Rahul Gandhi maintained silence. Let’s see this from Pakistan’s point of view. Pakistan will surely want an unstable government and a weak Prime Minister in India. This is the core problem of Pakistan as far as Modi is concerned. Modi has emerged as a strong prime minister, he has a stable government enjoying full majority, and in the last 10 years, India’s stature has grown while Pakistan’s status has declined for the worse. Pakistan fears Modi. It will never want him to become Prime Minister again.