‘America has to understand who are its true friends? Pakistan hiding bin Laden or else…’

New Delhi. Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday that Pakistan is basically a military society with strong Islamist tendencies, while India is completely different. Participating in the NDTV World Summit in the national capital on Friday, Abbott targeted Pakistan for supporting terrorism and reminded how al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was found in Abbottabad. Asked about statements by top US generals about working with Pakistan on terrorism, Abbott said Pakistan cooperated with the US so much that it gave Osama bin Laden a place to hide for almost a decade.

He said that there are some good people in Pakistan with whom one can work, but the system there is military and has radical Islamic influence. India, on the other hand, is completely different. Abbott said that America should work with Pakistan where possible, but it has to understand who its true friends are. He told that when he was the Prime Minister, he tried to build good relations with everyone, but friends are only those with whom we have common interests, values ​​and history.

Abbott emphasized that America’s core interests lie in a stronger friendship with India than with Pakistan. He said that India’s core interests lie in strong partnerships with democratic countries. He described India as an emerging democratic superpower and emphasized that the 21st century will be as much about India as it is about China. He said that the Prime Minister of India can become the leader of the free world in the next 40-50 years.

The former Australian Prime Minister said that China’s leadership is a party dictatorship, not a personal dictatorship. As Prime Minister, I used to say that India will emerge as a democratic superpower. Now this has happened. The Prime Minister of India is likely to become the leader of the free world in the next 40-50 years.

He also talked about the increasing racial attacks against Indians in Australia. He said that there are two issues here. Is there too much immigration to Australia? We have had record numbers of immigration throughout the year. Is there a need to reduce immigration? The second issue is crime. There is a crime problem in Melbourne. Some gangs are out of control. Victorian Police is working on this. Now the time has come for the police to once again control the roads.

Abbott said that at this critical time for the wider world, it is important that Australia and India build on their friendship, which is deep and growing stronger. The former Australian Prime Minister told IANS, “I am a big admirer of Prime Minister Modi. I think he has been a transformational Prime Minister and he is a huge historical figure.”