Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Sunday said that no one in Pakistan knows India better than him. PM Khan was talking to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria about Pakistan’s relations with India.
“I understand and know India much more than the rest of my own countrymen or probably all over the world,” said PM Imran Khan, adding that he has many friends in India.
Racist RSS ideology has taken over India: PM Imran Khan
“The moment my government came into power, the first thing I did was reach out to India. I told them [PM Narendra Modi] if he took one step forward, I would take two. Our only issue is Kashmir, and we should solve it like good neighbours on the dialogue table,” said PM Khan.
“Unfortunately Fareed, there is a tragedy unfolding in India. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology has taken over India. We are in this day of information technology. All we have to do is Google who are the founding fathers of RSS,” said the premier.
“It’s a racist ideology which has taken over India. It’s an ideology that assassinated the great Gandhi. It’s very difficult to come to terms with the ideology,” said the prime minister.
“We have made no headways. But my worry is Fareed that what is going on in India is much more damaging for India than for Pakistan,” added PM Khan.
The only option the world has right now is to engage with the Taliban for things to move forward: PM Khan
The premier further talked about Pakistan’s diplomatic relations with the new Taliban government in Afghanistan and the current state of the war on terror.
PM Khan said that sooner or later, the Taliban will have to be recognised by the world as it is about the well-being and future of about 40 million Afghans.
“Forty million people in Afghanistan are in dire straits because of the ongoing situation in the country,” the premier said, adding that the people of the United States (US) should understand that disliking the Taliban government is one thing but thinking about the welfare of the Afghans is another as they are facing “extreme difficulties”.
“Afghanistan is on the verge of experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis,” PM Imran Khan said. “Considering the circumstances, is there any other alternative to the Taliban in Afghanistan? No, there isn’t.”
“Therefore, the only alternative we have is to work with the Taliban government [for the sake of the Afghans] because turning the Taliban away would only lead to chaos in the country,” PM Imran Khan reiterated.
He went on to say that the US’ War on Terror (WoT) backfired and increased the number of terrorists worldwide, adding that because of the war, there had been extensive casualties in Pakistan as more than 80,000 Pakistani citizens lost their lives during the war.
“Pakistan had to bear the brunt of the war in Afghanistan by witnessing numerous suicide attacks,” he said. “The US must reconsider its policy on carrying out drone attacks.”
The situation in Xinjiang is not what the western media portrays: Premier
When asked about China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, PM Khan said that Pakistan’s ambassador to China Moin ul Haq had visited Xinjiang and said that the situation over there is “not what the western media portrays”.
The premier said that a comparison of Pakistan’s condemnation of India committing genocide of innocent people in occupied Kashmir and the issue of Xinjiang is not fair.
“Occupied Kashmir is a disputed territory between Pakistan and India and India is ruled by an RSS ideology,” the premier said. “Until the Kashmir issue is resolved, the fear of war between the two nuclear powers will remain intact.”
