DAVOS, Jan 22 (APP):Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday once again sharing his concerns said under the influence of German Nazis’ mindset, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in India was relentlessly implementing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) supremacist ideology against its minorities and moving on a path littered with disastrous consequences for the entire region.
The ideology of Hindutva, which had direct inspiration from the German Nazis, believed in the Hindus’ racial superiority over other communities residing inside India, especially the Muslims and the Christians, he said while speaking during a moderated session of International Media Council in Davos, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting.
India, a nuclear armed country of about two billion people, was moving on a path of disaster, he warned.
The prime minister, to a question regarding the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) dispute, said when he formed the government, from the day first, he was a firm believer that military was no solution to any conflict as it could have unintended consequences.
The only way forward was bringing about a peace settlement in Afghanistan, mend border issues with Iran and ties with India, he added.
Mentioning his cricketing experience of playing in the neighbouring country and friendships, he said his government tried to reach out to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but strangely the reaction from the other side was quite weird.
The whole region, he said, faced the issue of poverty, and peace and trade were the way forward to overcome the challenges, but the events, which proceeded after the Pulwama attack, were strange. After the incident, he offered the Indian government to provide actionable evidences and Pakistan would take action, but instead they bombed inside Pakistan. In response, their planes were brought down, but Pakistan in a goodwill gesture, had returned the captured Indian pilot.
To another query, Imran Khan said,“The two nuke countries cannot afford a conflict.”
“Kashmir is a disputed territory under the United Nations resolutions. The things went bad to (the) worst after India revoked its special status, did away the Article 370 of its constitution with the unilateral steps,” he added.
The prime minister warned that what was happening in India would be a disaster for the people of India and the Occupied Kashmir. About 900,000 Indian troops had turned the occupied valley into an open prison.
Efforts were afoot to change the demography of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which was indeed worrisome, he maintained.
He said he had talked to US President Donald Trump over the issue. To another question, he once again urged the United Nations and the US that they must act over the worsening situation in IOJK.
Imran Khan said Pakistan had fears that what happened in Pulwama, New Delhi once again could stage such an act to attack the Line of Control to divert the world’s attention from the things happening inside Occupied Kashmir and India, including the strong protests over the controversial citizenship act.
The prime minister also categorically said that the two nuclear countries could not contemplate a war. He had demanded the UN to send observers to the LoC, he added.
He said his worry was about the BJP’s election campaign based upon jingoism, which led to the protests being held across India over the controversial citizenship laws.
To another question, the prime minister said he had no concern over US-India trade ties as India was a huge market. What concerned him was the way the BJP government in India was heading towards which would have dangerous sequences, he said, adding due to such policies, the region could become a potential flashpoint and it was the time for the UN and the US that they ‘must act’.
About peace and reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan, the prime minister said war was no solution to conflicts as the military actions in the neighbouring country had given rise to terrorism, adversely affecting Pakistan. It had created more chaos and more people joined militants, he said, adding due to his stance over the issue in the past, he was often considered as anti-US.
Now finally, President Trump had adopted a policy of holding dialogue, he said.
Terming the US-Pak ties ‘the decent ones’ in the recent times, the prime minister said both the leadership had been on the same page and that cooperation was based upon common objectives.
The past governments in Pakistan, he said, had made big mistakes by joining the US-led war on terrorism, in which the country lost about 70,000 people and was also blamed for the failure of US in Afghanistan.
But, now the US and Pakistan, he said, shared the common objective of bringing about a lasting peace in Afghanistan through the peace initiatives. That transactional relationship had now turned into a proper relationship, he added.
The prime minister maintained they were concentrating upon rebuilding of their areas badly affected by terrorism.
To another query regarding economic policies of his government, Imran Khan observed that during the 60s, Pakistan was the fastest growing industrialization country in the region and its model was copied by different countries. It was ahead of other countries in the region.
“My contention is that it is not the lack of resources but the corruption due to which a country becomes poor. It destroys state institutions,” he underlined.
The prime minister said the ruling elite could not make illegal money unless they destroyed the country’s state institutions, including its tax machinery. “Look around in the developing countries,” he added.
Secondly, he said, they did it because they had to take the money out of the country through money laundering. The practice of money laundering and mega kickbacks put pressure on the currency leading to poverty and inflation.
Enumerating his government’s steps for economic turnaround, the prime minister said they had strengthened the state institutions through a big accountability drive, drafted laws on the money laundering, boosted exports and strengthened the currency, thus putting the economy on the right track.
He said they had inherited the biggest current account deficit, which was now cut down by 70 per cent. Policies were introduced to increase the stagnant exports volume and to compete with other countries.
“Direction is right, but they have a lot of hard work to do,” he added.
Responding to a question, the prime minister said his government had been the first one in the country’s history, which was fully supported by the military. Both were on the same page and the foreign policy was fully supported by all the institutions, including the military, he added.
