Pakistan craves for peace, will rise with honour, says Imran

islamabad — Pakistan will no longer fight someone else’s war, Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a televised address.

Khan also reiterated his backing for a recent push by the US for talks with the Taleban in Afghanistan and said he wants Pakistan to move forward with “honour”.

“We will no longer fight someone else’s war, nor will we bow down in front of anyone”, the former cricketer said.

Islamabad joined Washington’s “war on terror” in 2001, and says it has paid a heavy price for the alliance, which sparked a militant backlash and homegrown militant groups who turned their guns on the Pakistani state, costing thousands of lives. Security has dramatically improved in recent years after a military crackdown.

Khan, who has long been vocal about Pakistan’s role in the war on terror, said his country wants “peace with all”.

“Thanks (God) that today, the same people who were asking to do more are now asking us to help them in Afghanistan, to establish peace and to negotiate,” he said.

Meanwhile, addressing a gathering of students from Balochistan at the Prime Minister Office in Islamabad Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that having a strong desire of peace with all sans any fear from and submitting to any world power,

Pakistan would rise in the comity of nations with pride and dignity by following the principles of the State of Madina, including democracy, meritocracy, justice and rule of law.

“We will neither fight others’ war nor submit before any one. We want peace with all,” he said.

The prime minister referred to the United States’ repeated “do more” mantra regarding peace in Afghanistan in the past and said now they (the US) were saying what we had been saying since the beginning, and have sought Pakistan’s help for a negotiated and peaceful resolution of the Afghan problem.

Imran Khan regretted that Pakistani leaders in the past gave an impression that if they did not submit to the superpower’s desire of fighting others’ war, the country would face great difficulties.

He said required funds could not be spent on human resource development in Balochistan in the past. However, his government would strive to allocate more funds for higher education so as to improve the lot of people in that province.

The prime minister also promised to visit Gwadar. The prime minister discussed the massive economic problems his government had inherited and said owing to the corrective measures being taken by the PTI government the situation would improve with the passage of time.