Resolution of Kashmir problem is the only way to take the India-Pakistan relationship forward, says Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
Speaking to Hindustan Times ahead of his session in leadership summit, on how to make the bilateral dialogue meaningful, Imran Khan said “Everything stems from Kashmir. Both sides must sit down and sort out the Kashmir issue.”
“Shah Mehmood Qureishi, Pakistan’s foreign minister, who was in India when the Mumbai attacks took place, tells me the two countries were really close to forward movement on Kashmir. Resolving the issue is the solution to all our problems,” he said.
Imran Khan, however, believes that both countries need strong leaders to push the peace process and that “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cannot take a decision on Kashmir now because elections are looming ahead.”
He was of the view that there will be little progress in relations between the two countries and the dialogue will get a fresh boost of energy only after the next government takes office in 2014.
“The honeymoon period is the best time for any government to take hard decisions,” he said.
To the question of how Pakistan was reacting to Narendra Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Imran Khan said “Pakistan has reservations about Modi because of the riots and the communal violence in Gujarat, but a dialogue is always there as a way forward between any two democracies. If Modi emerges as the choice of the Indian people, we will have to respect that.”
Khan used the Taliban analogy when speaking of Modi, saying “Hakimullah Mehsud was killed on the eve of talks with the Taliban, but if you stand for peace, then it’s not about personalities. When the BJP-led NDA came to power in India, Pakistan was bracing for new hostilities but Atal Behari Vajpayee broke the thaw. So may be Modi too will moderate extremes if he comes to power.”
Imran Khan further said, “Pakistan is at a crossroad and it is imperative that we have a dialogue with the Taliban and bring some peace in the tribal areas, else India will have more than one militant group to worry about.”
The PTI chairman is in India on a two-day tour. He will address several seminars in India. The vice chairman of PTI, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and secretary general, Jahangir Tareen, are accompanying Imran Khan during the tour.
Solution to Kashmir issue only way forward: Imran Khan
