Hidden in Beijing 2008: Gandhi-Bhutto Meeting Resurfaces, Triggers Political Row

National News: The 2008 Beijing Olympics was seen as a demonstration of China's global power. There was a meeting between the grand opening ceremony, the glitter of the Games, and the dazzling of international diplomacy, which was anonymous then but is now heating up in the heat of politics.

The then Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were in Beijing at that time. Incidentally, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) president Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, his sisters Bakhtawar and Asifa, and senior party leaders Jahangir Badar and Rahman Malik were also present there at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC).

According to sources, there was a private meeting of about 30 minutes between the two political families during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. During this, Sonia Gandhi expressed condolences to the Bhutto family on the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

Not politics, but diplomatic symbolism is deep

The then PPP leader, Rahman Malik, at that time described the meeting as "a family meeting full of heat and sensations". He claimed that there was no political discussion in it; only personal experiences, sorrows, and relationships were talked about.

However, during this time there were also reports in the media that an "MoU" has been signed between the Congress Party and the Chinese Communist Party (CPC). It was told that under this MoU, both parties can discuss political, foreign, and strategic affairs.

The actual details of this MOU have not been made public to date, but this agreement has been a matter of political debate for a long time.

The picture is again viral and new debate

Now, 18 years later, a photo of that meeting has gone viral on social media. This photo has once again awakened the old questions: was it just a meeting to express condolences, or were there some more strategic discussions behind the curtain?

Many analysts and citizens have sought an explanation from the Congress as to why and with what intent the meeting with the political heirs of Pakistan on China's land. Especially when relations between India and Pakistan were extremely stressful.

China's role and sensitivity to Indo-Pak relations

It also cannot be ignored that this meeting occurred under the hosting of China, and the major political houses of the two countries -the Gandhi family and the Bhutto family—were involved in it. China's role in relations between India and Pakistan has always been full of doubt and strategic complexity.

In such a situation, this meeting cannot be considered limited only to "consolation". Such "soft channel diplomacy" is often symbolic but may have deep political implications.

Congress's silence and opposition attacks

Now that this picture is again in the headlines, the silence of the Congress party is giving rise to many questions. Does the party consider this meeting as just personal etiquette? Or did it also include any strategic discourse, which was hidden to date?

The BJP and other opposition parties have started taking Congress on this. The question is also arising whether China got an indirect opportunity to intervene in the internal politics of both countries with this meeting.

Politics behind symbols

This incident is no longer history but has become a part of current politics. That picture of 2008 has nowcome more of a political document than a symbolic meeting. The Congress should clarify the situation, because the public no longer trusts only the stories of "etiquette."