Modi’s aggressive anti-Pakistan policy behind worsening ties with India: Imran Khan

Islamabad, July 5: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government in India of adopting “an aggressive “anti-Pakistan posture”. He said that the Indian government had adopted the policy because Prime Minister Modi wants to blame Pakistan “for all the barbarism they are doing in Kashmir”.

The cricket-turned-politician told Dawn News that his arch political rival and former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif made all possible attempts to mend ties with India. Pointing that the former Pakistan PM even went on to invited Prime Minister Modi to his house as a personal gesture, Khan said that Sharif “tried his best”.

Imran Khan blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in India for worsening of relationship between the two countries, accusing it of following a policy of trying to isolate Pakistan.

Further talking about the prospects and strategy of his party in the upcoming Pakistan general elections, Imran Khan said that in Pakistan, one “needs money and thousands of trained polling agents” to win elections.

Responding to a question on the sensitivity of the relationship between the civil and the military leaderships of the country, the PTI chief said that there has been military influence on the government because no party has been able to provide a clean government. He added, “We have had the worst political government”.

According to Khan, people welcome military with open arms where the democratically elected government is “crooked and corrupt”. He further quoted the example of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, calling him the “strongest prime minister”. Pointing that Bhutto dismissed many army officers, Khan said that the army still never interfered in the functioning of the government.

Pakistan media reports say that the PTI has emerged as one of the frontrunners in the run up to the general elections, scheduled for July 25.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)