PTI govt negotiated Pakistani Taliban’s resettlement with Kabul: Imran Khan

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan has said his government had been negotiating with the Afghan Taliban government resettlement of some 40,000 Pakistani Taliban, including 5,000 to 10,000, militants, but the new government did not pay much attention to this issue and the country is facing terrorism now, reports Geo News.

He stated this in his wide-ranging interaction the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Diwaniyya, via video link as he engaged with scholars, academicians, policymakers and students from Turkiye and abroad.

He said the Pakistani Taliban, who had fought the Americans and were mostly Pahstuns from earstwhile tribal areas of Pakistan, had been asked by the Afghan Taliban (when they took over Kabul) to go back to Pakistan, and added that his government had started negotiations with Kabul for their resettlement.

“So unfortunately when my government went, I was taken off the ball, the new setup and the military establishment did not pay enough attention to what was happening with the resettlement of the Taliban coming in, so we had this wave of terrorism coming in .... that needs to be dealt with,” Imran Khan added.

Imran Khan said that foreign policy of Pakistan was not up to the mark. He said that we kept fighting others’ wars for dollars. He said that the difference between Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban should be observed.

He was addressing the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Diwaniyya, via video link as he engaged with scholars, academicians, policymakers and students from Turkiye and abroad. He said that the current government was unfortunately not paying attention to the Afghan policy. He said his government was dismissed soon after the Afghan Taliban took control of Afghanistan, which led to the resurgence in terrorism in the country.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan claimed the Pakistani nation was suffering the consequences of regime change operation, which deposed him from power.

“Mossadegh’s regime in Iran was overthrown by the CIA. The same procedure was adopted to topple my government too,” the former prime minister said, referring to his removal from power in April this year. He said the Pakistani nation was suffering the consequences of regime change operation. He added that the Iranian nation also did not compromise on its sovereignty.

Imran Khan said the rulers of Muslim countries must be united for the sake of Muslim Ummah. He said the problem lies with personal interests and rulers do not care about the opinion of the people.

He also mentioned they told the world about the Indian atrocities in Occupied Kashmir during his tenure and raised their voice for the oppressed people of Kashmir at all international fora. He said despite the Indian atrocities, Kashmiris are standing up for their rights. He urged the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to raise its voice on injustice against the Muslim countries.

Imran Khan opined that India will have no choice but to give rights to Kashmiris soon. He mentioned that political issues are always resolved through dialogue and nuclear war will be tantamount to a suicide attack on the entire world. He said Pakistan’s nuclear assets are for the protection of its people. He said India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan, is many times more powerful than us, but the nuclear weapons have stopped any misadventure.

Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are to stop India from any adventure. Ever since Pakistan became a nuclear power, there has been no war with India, he said. The former premier said Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir issue is very clear. He said the dispute between the two nuclear powers over Kashmir is a huge misfortune. Modi increased the conflict by changing the status of Kashmir. Imran Khan said he doesn’t believe in nuclear weapons and military solutions.

He mentioned that Pakistan has deep relations with Turkiye. He said they wanted trade relations with Istanbul and there was an immense potential in trade and both countries could benefit from it.

He said after the 9/11 attacks, Muslims were introduced to the world as extremists and all Muslim countries suffered a lot after the incident. He said there was no international media to represent Muslim, adding that media plays an important role in shaping the public mind in the world.