Forget Nuclear Weapons, Let’s Worry About Pakistan’s Deadly Hugs

Hug Me Not.

(Photo: Altered  by Shruti Mathur/The Quint)

Pakistan’s nukes have got a whole lotta people worried.

The country, that already has more nuclear warheads than India, is developing more amid legitimate fears that they could be hijacked anytime.

But hey, let’s forget all about the enemy country’s nuke game and focus our energy on a far more dangerous thing: Hugs.

Yes, especially this one.

Navjot Singh Sidhu hugging Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony. (Photo: ANI)

Now, what prompted Sidhu paaji to give a jaadu ki jhappi to the Army Chief of an enemy state – especially in these times of great bilateral tension – is unknown. Maybe it was emotions as he claims, or maybe he wanted to literally catch Bajwa off guard.

Nonetheless, some good too seems to have come out of this warm embrace. Pakistan may just give access to the Kartarpur Sahib gurudwara to hundreds of Sikh pilgrims.

However, a large section of Indians aren’t too pleased with it, and they have good reason to. BJP believes Sidhu has disrespected martyrs, while Sidhu’s own senior, Capt Amarinder Singh, has also admonished him. Meanwhile, the hashtags #SidhuHugsBajwa and #ShameOnSidhu have been trending with all sorts of angry, vile tweets.

Really now, somebody needs to tell Sidhu that in the list of things Indians can’t hug, if a cactus comes first, the Pakistani Army General comes next. Hugging both can be extremely prickly.

And even though Sidhu went to Pakistan for his friend and ex-cricketer Imran Khan’s swearing in, he was also representing India. And the critics are right – he should have controlled his Indian limbs.

In that regard, it was smart of Kapil Dev, Gavaskar and Aamir to not go without adequate training on ducking a hug.

Because let’s forget the other big security threats and challenges we are currently faced with, and just focus singularly on hugs.