Former Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) Pankaj Saran said that during his tenure as Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh tried hard to establish peace with Pakistan, but did not succeed. Saran was a close aide of the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Former Finance Minister and two-time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh died on Thursday (December 26, 2024) at the age of 92. Pankaj Saran on Thursday termed the demise of Manmohan Singh as very unfortunate and described him as an intellectual and world class economist and also described him as a symbol of humility.
The former Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) said, ‘He was a consensus builder, a very simple person, he never expected to become the Prime Minister, but he served for 10 years.’ Pankaj Saran has been India’s Ambassador to Russia. He also held various posts in India and abroad, including the post of High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh.
He was appointed Deputy NSA in 2018. Pankaj Saran told PTI in a video, ‘He (Manmohan Singh) has always been a good listener, an intellectual, a world-class economist and a widely respected person. He was the first (Indian) Prime Minister at the beginning of the G-20 summit in 2008 and he has earned a very high reputation among global leaders whose understanding of economics… Overall, I would say he is a very nice person, he is very personal He was a great person in both personal and public life.
He recalled, ‘Among the neighbours, they tried hard to establish peace with Pakistan, but did not succeed. He tried and was very disappointed that his efforts did not succeed. In fact, when he was Prime Minister in 2008, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks shook him.
