Khan said that his administration did not press for negotiations after India removed Kashmir’s status in 2019. He stated, “We asked India to first reconsider its decision and undertake peace negotiation”.
Imran Khan, the deposed prime minister of Pakistan, claimed on Monday that while in office he sought to mend tense ties with India but that the loss of Kashmir’s special status had become a “hurdle.”
The 70-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician Khan added that General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who oversaw the Army at the time, had even stronger links to India.
“I wanted to improve relations with India during my three-and-a-half year tenure, but the RSS ideology and revocation of (Jammu and Kashmir’s) special status proved to be a barrier”,the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chairman said during an interaction with a group of foreign journalists at his Zaman Park residence here.
Khan stated that his administration did not press for negotiations after India removed Kashmir’s status in 2019. “We asked India to first rescind its decision and conduct peace negotiations,” he explained.
In response to a query from the Press Trust of India (PTI) concerning who was in charge of India’s foreign policy during his term, Khan said: “I was in charge… I was in charge of international policy. However, let me tell you that Gen Bajwa was much more eager to improve relations with India.”
Khan recently stated that he lacked power throughout his term since Gen Bajwa was in charge.
When reminded that he had voiced his hope ahead of elections in India that Narendra Modi should win and as he would handle the Kashmir issue, Khan said: “I still feel that a leader from the right-wing party can resolve a dispute. I expected Modi to return to power and address the Kashmir issue since he was from a right-wing party. A country’s right-wing party is opposed to any resolution of such a problem.
The Kashmir dispute and cross-border terrorism coming from Pakistan have frequently strained relations between India and Pakistan.
However, relations between the two nations deteriorated after India repealed Article 370 of the Constitution, abolishing Jammu and Kashmir’s unique status and dividing the state into two Union territories.
Khan also launched a stinging rebuke of Gen Bajwa, who resigned late last month.
“Gen Bajwa has imposed a reign of terror on us for the last seven months, during which our leaders have been mercilessly tortured” (at his behest). “Gen Bajwa is also to blame for the country’s economic crisis,” he claims.
When asked who was responsible for toppling him from office – the US or Gen Bajwa – Khan said: “Gen Bajwa was mostly responsible for sending my administration home notwithstanding we were performing well on the economic front. He intended to grant NRO (favour) to the robbers, the Sharifs and the Zardaris, which is why he plotted against my government. The participation of the US should be determined by analysis of a cypher in this respect by a judicial commission.
Previously, Khan accused the US of plotting to depose him, an accusation that Washington rejected.
Khan also expressed concern over the Afghan situation.
“At the time, no one in authority knows how to handle the Afghan situation. Pakistan cannot afford confrontation with Afghanistan. Our foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, should visit Afghanistan instead of travelling around the world since this is an important subject “-He said.
In recent months, border strikes have strained relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers. Pakistan and Afghanistan share a tense 2,600-kilometer border.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Embassy in Kabul came under gunfire in an incident that was ultimately claimed by the Islamic State organisation. The wording of this sentence is a little different than the one used in the video. Islamabad has also claimed that Afghanistan’s leadership are harbouring militants who carry out fatal strikes on its territory.
