Peace restored in Afghanistan after 40 years, says Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said peace had been restored in Afghanistan after 40 years despite the fact that the western powers had frozen financial assets of the country, Bol news reported.

In an interview with Director of the Advisory Committee of China Institute of Fudan University Dr Eric Li, he said imposing restrictions on the Taliban government was inflicting privations on the Afghan people.

PM Khan said there was no military solution of the Afghan conflict. The United States should have returned after killing founder of al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden. He said there were no clear objectives of the US in Afghanistan.

Read more: PM Imran asks people to join international initiatives for addressing Afghan crisis

He said there was no room for more mistakes in Afghanistan. The people of the Pakistan’s neighbouring country had never accepted foreign occupation, he said.

The prime minister said the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan should be avoided. He warned that sanctioning the new Afghan setup will only descend Afghanistan into chaos and a weak setup would not be able to take on the international terrorists.

On the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Imran Khan said raising suspicion on the corridor project made no sense.

He said Pakistan saw the CPEC and Gwadar project as a great opportunity for its geo-economics. He invited other countries to join and invest in the CPEC project, emphasising that the government’s foremost priority was geo-economics and to uplift the economy.

The PM said his priority was the people of Pakistan and lift the people out of poverty while taking a cue from China.

He said both Pakistan and China have always stood by each other in difficult times. He said this all-weather relationship has transformed into a people to people friendship.

When asked about the Western concerns on the situation in Chinese province Xinjiang, Imran Khan said the Pakistan’s ambassador in China visited the area and the report he gave was different from the one that was coming on the western media. He said what was being told by the western media did not exist against Uighurs.

He said according to the envoy’s report, unprecedented development was taking place in Xinjiang.

Read more: PM Imran urges international community to provide immediate relief to Afghans

To a query, Imran Khan said Kashmir was a disputed territory between Pakistan and India. He said India unfortunately was denying the right of self-determination to Kashmiri people guaranteed by the UN Security Council resolutions.

Alluding to the marginalisation of minorities including Muslims in India, he said, “This is the tragedy that has happened with India under the current regime. Better sense should prevail in India otherwise it is only going to damage itself.”

When asked about China- US relations, he said the world did not want another cold war. He said Pakistan may replicate the role it played in 1970 when it brought China and the US together.