Imran Khan urged United States to halt drone strikes

Imran Khan, the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has urged the United States to stop drone strikes in Pakistan, claiming that they were killing many innocent people.

He observed that each bomb that killed terrorists also killed many people who might be related to the terrorists but were not involved in militancy.

In his view this collateral damage creates more Jihadis than it kills, he said this while interviewing with CNN. He also urged cessation of all military activities in the region if the United States wanted to engage the Taliban in meaningful peace talks. “One cannot talk and be at war at the same time,” he added.

It is vital to mention here that CNN introduced Imran Khan as “the most popular political leader” in Pakistan today who could be the country’s future prime minister and that’s why, it stated, his views on the drone attacks were important.

The cricket-turned politician ruled out any chance of a coup in the country despite the civil-military tensions, saying the biggest enemy of the civilian government is the government itself. He observed, “I don’t think there is any chance of a military coup in Pakistan.”

In his view the country had moved on, there was strong media and opposition in the country and the military could not just march in. He argued that military dictatorship was not the answer to the Pakistan’s many problems, stressing the need for a strong civilian setup.

Imran Khan termed the present government as the worst in the history of Pakistan, saying the people were suffering because of extending inflation, gas and electricity shortfalls and lack of employment chances.

He accused the government of detaining the Supreme Court verdicts and in so doing creating a crisis, and thus making the situation bleak.

Replying to a question about Jihadi groups, Khan said that the bombing of the tribal areas was responsible for the growth of extremism. He urged the need for a political dialogue with the militants, as he has always been encouraging.

He asserted, “But you can fight and talk at the same time. You need to have a political settlement. There are a million armed men in the tribal areas. We need to give peace a chance by engaging them in a political dialogue.”

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=10125

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jan 23 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.