ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan is bound to be a great country, in pursuance of the ideals set by great philosopher Allama Iqbal.
“We are to become a great nation, but not by begging,” said Imran Khan, addressing the people who gathered at the Islamabad airport to welcome him back home after successful three-day visit to the United States.
A lot of political workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were present at the airport where a stage was raised for PM Khan to address the gathering.
The PTI leaders, including Jahangir Khan Tareen, several high government officials, cabinet members, Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar, KP chief minister Mahmood Khan, federal ministers, including Fawad Chaudhry, Ghulam Sarwar, Pervez Khattak, Azam Swati, Murad Saeed, and Firdous Ashiq Awan were present to welcome the premier.
After appearing from the airport, Imran Khan waved to the fully charged welcoming gathering.
Upon the warm and resounding reception accorded to him, he said, “It seems that I haven’t come after a foreign visit, instead, it gives me the feeling that I have come after winning the World Cup.”
PM Imran Khan said Pakistan is the only country that came into being in the name of Islam. "I call upon to never forget that we are to become a great nation," he said.
"Neither I have ever bowed down to any one, nor will I let my nation to do so. We are to become a self-respected nation," he said. "All my struggle is focused to make our country one of the great nations of the world based on the principles set by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) upon which he founded the state of Madinah."
I won’t let you down as you reposed confidence in me in the general elections, he said.
Short of sending the people who bankrupted the country and looted its coffers, the nation can’t make progress, he stressed.
In his address to the US Congress members at the Capitol Hill before leaving for the United States, the premier clarified that Pakistan fought a US war though it had nothing to do with the Nine Eleven. However, he renewed the resolve to help US in finding the peaceful solution to 18-year old Afghan war.
PM Imran vowed to play a role and cooperate with the United States to achieve a political settlement with the Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan.
PM said: "The whole country is behind me, the Pakistani army and all security forces are behind me." He added, "Our objective is same as US right now; to find a peaceful solution as quickly as possible in Afghanistan.”
PM said that main objective of his US visit was to make the people in US have better understanding of Pakistan, adding, "Pakistan is misunderstood here, specifically in the last 15 years when the war on terror was being fought in Afghanistan and on the borders of Pakistan."
He said: "Our 70,000 people died in this war on terror and we had billions and billions of dollars lost to our economy. We were fighting US war as we had nothing to do with 9/11. Al-Qaeda was in Afghanistan and there was no militant in Pakistan, then."
“It was partly a fault of previous Pakistani governments who did not apprise US of the actual situation. That in order to “Do More” & help US win this war, Pakistan was fighting for its own existence at that time,” said Khan.