–Imran says flawed policies of 80s and 90s are responsible for the problems plaguing Pakistan today
–Warns of catastrophe if int’l community doesn’t intervene to stop India from oppressing Kashmiris
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that Pakistan will no longer fight anyone else’s war and will only play a conciliatory role between rival nations as it has already suffered a lot due to its policy of joining foreign conflicts in the past.
Addressing an international conference titled ‘Margalla Dialogue ’19’ – organised by Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), the premier said, “One main lesson we have learned in the last four decades is that we must not ally ourselves with any country where we have to fight someone else’s war.”
“In the past, our governments thought that they would gain something by becoming a frontline state for some powerful country but we only gained foreign aid and in the end if we analyse the numbers, we lost far more than what we had gained,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s flawed decisions during the 80s and 90s were responsible for the problems the country is facing today.
Regarding Afghanistan, the prime minister said that peace in that country is not only beneficial to Pakistan, but for the whole region, especially the landlocked central Asian republics. He said that Pakistan is plying its role for peace in Afghanistan as there is no military solution to this issue and it should resolve politically.
The prime minister also mentioned that Pakistan is also making efforts to ensure that there is no conflict in the region for which it is also reaching out to Iranian and Saudi leadership for forging tranquility among the brotherly Muslim countries.
He praised Saudi Arabia and said that whenever Pakistan required help the kingdom had always come to its aid. He also said that if Iran sanctions were lifted from Iran, the country could become a regional power. “Iran emerging as an economic power could prove beneficial for Pakistan,” he added.
He further said that besides making efforts to ensure peace in the region, we are also opening up our country for investors, tourists, and other activities. He cited the examples of both the United States (US) and China on spending money and how it had impacted the two countries. “We can learn from the examples of the US and China. While one focused on spending billions on war, the other developed its infrastructure,” he added.
Speaking about the crisis in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), the premier said that India is committing atrocities against the people of Kashmir to make them submit to its illegal acts in the occupied territory. He said that millions of people have been under siege in IOK for over one a hundred days. He added that there is complete communication blockade in the valley and youngsters are being picked up by the Indian troops.
He urged the world community to step in to avoid any serious situation in South Asia as the “fascist” regime of Indian premier Narendra Modi is pursuing an ideology of hate in the region. “India is in the grip of extremist ideology and their ideology is based on hatred and racial superiority which is similar to the ideology of the Nazi party in Germany,” he added.
He further said that when the Nazi party came into power in Germany no one had idea where it was heading to and “today India is facing the similar situation”. He warned that if the international community did not intervene in the Kashmir conflict “there will be catastrophe as the two nuclear armed countries have come face-to-face”.
