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Tuesday March 19, 2024

No dialogue with India until it restores Kashmir autonomy: Imran

By APP
May 12, 2021

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday categorically stated that Pakistan would not resume talks with India until it restores the special status of occupied Kashmir as he parried opposition’s criticism over Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s comments in which he said it was “an internal matter”.

“Unless India reverts its August 5, 2019 action, Pakistan will not hold talks,” he said in an interactive session with the public. This was the third such interactive session titled “Aap ka Wazir-e-Azam, Aap ke Sath”, where the Prime Minister took live phone calls and responded to the public’s questions.

Khan said the Hindu supremacist ideology of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) of India was being condemned at the international level. He lauded the role of Pakistan’s Foreign Office in leading a full campaign to highlight the Kashmir issue globally.

His remarks came after the opposition excoriated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government for remarks attributed to Qureshi, in which he told a private television channel that the abrogation of Article 370 was an “internal matter” of India. In a press conference, Qureshi said on Tuesday the Kashmir issue was with the UN, therefore, it could not be an internal matter.

The Prime Minister also spoke on a number of other matters, among which was his willingness to reshuffle his team further if they fail to perform, his battle against corruption and “mafias” and his approach to welfare.

A caller had asked if the Premier was satisfied with his team of ministers and advisers. In response, Khan gave the analogy of a cricket team, saying that out of a team of 11 players, not everyone can perform exceedingly well. “Not everyone can be a superstar,” he said. “If the ministers and advisers do not perform, the team will have to be changed,” he said. He said it was his prime goal to make Pakistan a great nation by making the corrupt and “powerful mafia” accountable before the law. “To make the powerful accountable before the law is a jihad. We will make the corrupt political leaders and mafias surrender before the rule of law,” the Prime Minister vowed.

Khan vowed to uphold the supremacy of law and justice to make Pakistan great. A nation, he said, could not become strong unless it empowered its weaker sections, and that was the reason he had joined politics and named his political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — after justice.

He said the government was firm to ensure socio-economic justice in the country. “We are nearing our destination and I will fight these mafias and win,” he said.

On the fight against the “corrupt elite”, the Prime Minister said a nation could not prosper, when their leaders and prime ministers stole money as it resulted in the weakening of the country’s economy.

On Jahangir Tareen, he dismissed the notion that any injustice or victimisation had happened. He also pledged that those who were involved in the price hike of sugar would be punished.

He mentioned that the “sugar mafia” by a one rupee (per kilogram) price increase extorted Rs 5 billion from the pockets of masses. “The sugar industrialists paid Rs 22 billion as tax in five years but got billions in subsidy. There will be no concession with any mafia,” he added. “I am answerable to Almighty Allah. How can I put the poor in jails and set the powerful free?” he asked.

Khan said cartels and monopoly as witnessed in the case of sugar mills resulted in inflation. The appointment of Shaukat Tarin as finance minister was aimed at controlling inflation and increasing growth rate, he added.

Khan also announced the establishment of a dedicated portal for overseas Pakistanis to be headed by the foreign minister, where complaints could be lodged directly if an embassy or foreign mission did not respond to their pleas.

He said the portal would be advertised soon where a special officer would be working under the foreign minister as a focal person to deal with the complaints. He mentioned that the Foreign Office was working well in the area of diplomacy.

The government was focusing on two areas — consular services and attracting foreign investment. He, however, admitted that his recent interaction with the diplomats deployed at missions abroad, where he had pointed out the shortcomings, should not have gone on air for public consumption.