-Sees no need for nuclear deterrents once Kashmir issue is resolved
-Reminds 70,000 Pakistanis were martyred during the war against terror after 9/11
attacks
-Clarifies ‘Islamabad is not interested to become part of any other conflict’
-Thanks China for rescuing Pakistan in hard times
-Defends his stance that linked incidence of rape to obscenity
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said Afghan war heavily affected Pakistan and it would not allow the United States (US) to use its bases for cross-border military actions after American forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In an interview with a US TV HBO Axios, Imran Khan said Pakistan suffered a lot due to war in Afghanistan. When asked if Islamabad would allow the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct cross-border counter-terrorism missions in Afghanistan, he replied: “Absolutely not.”
“There’s no way we are ever going to allow,” the premier stated in clear terms. “Any bases, any sort of action from Pakistani territory into Afghanistan, absolutely not.” The United States has said it will withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan on Sept. 11 after a two-decade presence.
He said more than 70,000 Pakistanis were martyred during the war against terror after 9/11 attacks. “Islamabad is not interested to become part of any other conflict.” The premier said Pakistan’s nuclear program is for defense purposes only and we do not have hostile designs against any of the countries including India.
Kashmir issue:
Mr. Khan has said that once the Kashmir issue is resolved, there will no longer be any need for nuclear deterrents. “I don’t know where they’ve come up with this. Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is simply a deterrent, to protect ourselves,” he said, adding that he was “not sure” whether it was growing. “As far as I know, it’s not an offensive thing. Any country which has a neighbour seven times its size would be worried.”
He went on to say that he was “completely against nuclear arms”.
“I always have been. We’ve had three wars against India and ever since we have had a nuclear deterrent, there has been no war between the two countries. We’ve had border skirmishes but we’ve never faced war. “The moment there is a settlement on Kashmir, the two neighbours would live as civilised people. We will not need to have nuclear deterrents.”
Uighur Muslims:
Asked why he was so outspoken about Islamophobia in the West but silent about the genocide of Uighur Muslims in China, he said that all issues were discussed with China “behind closed doors”.
“China has been one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times. When we were really struggling, China came to our rescue. We respect the way they are and whatever issues we have, we speak behind closed doors.
“I look around the world what’s happening in Palestine, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan. Am I going to start talking about everything? I concentrate on what is happening on my border, in my country.”
He questioned why this was such a big issue in the Western world when the people of occupied Kashmir were being ignored. “It is much more relevant. Compared to what may be going on with the Uighurs, 100,000 Kashmiris have been killed,” he said, adding that the occupied valley had been turned into an “open prison”.
On COVID-19:
Prime Minister Imran Khan said partial lockdown coupled with comprehensive data analysis helped Pakistan to keep the Covid-19 pandemic under control.
He said there were more than seventy per cent informal economy workers and daily wagers and the government could not make the decision to force a complete clampdown in the country.
He said National Command and Operation Centre performed actively and coordinated with all institutions for the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures.
Sexual violence in Pakistan:
Asked to respond to his comments linking the incidence of rape to obscenity, the premier said: “It is such nonsense. I never said that, I said the concept of Purdah which is to avoid temptation in society.”
He said that Pakistan had a completely different society and way of life. “If you raise temptation within society and all these young guys have nowhere to go, it has consequences.”
“Do you think that what women wear has any effect, that it is part of this temptation?” Swan asked.
“If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on men unless they are robots. I mean it’s common sense,” he said. If you have a society where people haven’t seen that sort of thing it will have an impact on them, he said.
When the interviewer brought up his past as an international cricket star, PM Imran said: “This is not about me. It’s about my society. My priority is how my society behaves […] so when I see sex crime going through the roof we sit down and discuss how to tackle it. It is having an impact in my society.”
