Imran Khan: Not in Pakistan's interest to let terrorism flourish
What's the story
A day after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called for resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan, he has said that it is not in Pakistan's interest to let terrorism flourish on its soil. However, he said that his government, which marked its 100th day in power on Thursday, could only try and curb terrorism. Here are the details.
Quote
Khan: Up to India whether they want to resume talks
"We can try but the rest is up to India. What else can we do," said PM Khan.
Terrorism
What PM Khan had to say about terrorism
PM Khan's comments came while he was speaking to Indian journalists from the Prime Minister's Office in Pakistan. When asked about action taken against 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, PM Khan said that there were United Nations sanctions against Saeed's group. However, when he was asked about the Mumbai terror attacks case, PM Khan only said that the matter was "sub-judice".
Indo-Pak ties
Imran Khan's comments on Indo-Pak relations
Further, keeping in line with Islamabad's earlier suggestions that the stalemate in India-Pakistan dialogue was a doing of the BJP government, PM Khan said that he was willing wait till after the 2019 elections for any gesture from Delhi to resume bilateral talks. However, he said that he was willing to talk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that earlier conversations with PM Modi had been "very good".
India
What India had told Pakistan earlier
Earlier, on Wednesday, India had refused to resume bilateral talks with Pakistan till the latter stopped sponsoring terrorism in India. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had reminded Pakistan that the Kartarpur corridor gesture would not be enough for the resumption of dialogue, and that Pakistan's action against terrorism would determine whether India would participate in a possible SAARC summit in Islamabad.