ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has emphatically stated that Pakistan will absolutely not allow any bases or use of its territory to the United States for any operation against Afghanistan.
In an interview with HBO Axios, PM Imran Khan said Pakistan suffered seventy thousand casualties more than any other country by joining the American war.
“There’s no way we are ever going to allow any bases, any sort of action from Pakistani territory into Afghanistan, absolutely not,” the prime minister said categorically. “We cannot afford any more military actions from our territory. We will be partners in peace but not in conflict.”
The prime minister said there must be a political settlement in Afghanistan before the Americans leave. ”Without a political settlement, there is a possibility of a civil war, and the country that will suffer the most after Afghanistan will be Pakistan,” he added.
PM Imran Khan said Pakistan is already are hosting three million refugees and this could lead to another exodus. He said being the most powerful nation in the world, the United States has a big responsibility.
.@jonathanvswan presses Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on why he’s outspoken against Islamophobia in the West but silent about the genocide of Muslim Uyghurs in western China.
Khan: I concentrate on what is happening on my border.
Swan: This is on your border. #AxiosOnHBO pic.twitter.com/QdLfY1qXGL
— Axios (@axios) June 20, 2021
‘Kashmir concerns me more’
Referring to the Kashmir dispute, he said according to the UN Security Council resolutions, there should have been a plebiscite for the people of Kashmir to decide their own future. He said this has not taken place, adding that if the Americans have the resolve and the will, this can be sorted out.
While replying to another question, PM Imran Khan said China has been one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times. When asked about why he has been silent on the crackdown in Xinjiang region of China, the prime minister pointed to Beijing’s repeated denials of forced labour.
“Whatever issues we have with the Chinese, we speak to them behind closed doors. China has been one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times. When we were really struggling, our economy was struggling, China came to our rescue. So we respect the way they are,” Khan said.
He also asked why the world was fixated on Xinjiang while ignoring what India was doing in Kashmir. He asked why what India was doing in Kashmir was not an issue, calling it a matter of “hypocrisy”.
“I look around the world what’s happening in Palestine, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan. Am I going to start talking about everything? I concentrate on what is happening on my border, in my country.”
Regarding the coronavirus situation, the prime minister said partial lockdown coupled with comprehensive data analysis helped Pakistan to keep the pandemic under control. He said more than 70 percent of our informal economy workers and daily wagers and the government could not make the decision to force a complete shutdown in the country.
