Will hold talks with India after the 2019 polls: Imran Khan
NEWDELHI: Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has blamed the upcoming general election in India for what he described as “anti-pakistan rhetoric” emanating from New Delhi, and said Islamabad remains hopeful of resuming talks after the polls.
Speaking during an interactive session at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, he said he took the initiative for extending an olive branch to India after assuming office, but Pakistan’s gesture was “sadly rebuffed by India.”
Khan said he believed the upcoming general election in India was the “reason behind its anti-pakistan rhetoric” and hinted at the resumption of talks after the polls, according to Pakistan’s state-run APP news agency.
“Now we are hoping to wait for [the] election and will again resume talks with India,” he said.
Peace between India and Pakistan, Khan said, is important to ensure that the resources of the two countries can be diverted towards human development rather than being wasted on an arms race.
“Peace with India is not just important for Pakistan, but for India as well. The money that should be diverted to human resources ends up in a non-productive arms race,” he said in response to a question on Pakistan’s efforts to maintain cordial ties with India.
Khan told the gathering of business leaders and investors from across the world that peace and stability with both India and Afghanistan are important for Pakistan.
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