WASHINGTON, July 23: Prime Minister Imran Khan, during an address delivered at the United States Institute of Peace on Tuesday, expressed confidence that there was “convergence between the United States and Pakistan” when it came to recognising that there is no military solution to deal with the war in Afghanistan.
He said that he viewed the dynamic to be different now, as both sides were finally looking at things through the same lens.
“The Pakistan Army was fighting but they [the US] thought we are not doing enough […] we had gone out of our way. But this time, we are all on the same page that only a political settlement through dialogue
will work,” said the prime minister.
In response to a question regarding what makes things different now in the relationship between the two countries, the premier said: “I always felt [previously] that the relationship was never multi-pronged, always transactional.”
The premier, providing a backdrop to the circumstances that led to the present situation in Afghanistan, said that the ‘jihadists’ had been convinced to fight against the US and once the ‘jihad’ was over, the US packed up and left and “we were slapped with sanctions”.
“We were left with 4 million afghan refugees […] a number of militant groups all dressed up and nowhere to go, heroin, drugs – which at some point were used to pay for the fighting,” he continued, to highlight the magnanimity of the fallout.
He said that after 9/11 Pakistan again joined the US [in the fight against terrorism].
“I only had one seat in parliament. When Gen Musharraf consulted us [on whether we should join the fight] I opposed it and said we should stay neutral.”-Agencies
