The entire US effort in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan declared on Thursday, is founded on a “false premise,” which is why it can never succeed.
The premier remarked in an interview with Chinese news site Guancha that the US did not care to study Afghanistan before the war in response to the 9/11 attacks.
“Had they studied about Afghanistan they would not have done things the way they did,” he added.
Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI interview with Guancha, China (Urdu subtitles) @PakPMO #APPNews https://t.co/HXUubdQ04A
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Imran claims that he has been saying since the beginning that the US will not find a military solution to the Afghan crisis, but that they never listened.
According to the prime minister, the US does not even know what it wants to achieve in Afghanistan. “Did they come to Afghanistan to construct a nation or to promote democracy?” “Or did they wish to free the Afghan women?” he inquired.
“Once Osama bin Laden was gunned down the mission in Afghanistan should have been over,” Imran said, adding that the al-Qaeda was ended during the first two years of the invasion then what were the US forces still doing after that.
“The Americans didn’t know themselves,” Imran quipped.
The United States, according to the prime minister, does not comprehend Afghans. “They never accept foreign rule,” he remarked, adding that if people don’t want to be dominated, no one can.
He declared there had been “no conflict” in Afghanistan for the first time in 40 years.
“But now the problem is that the US cannot differentiate between the Taliban government and the Afghan people which was resulting in a looming huge humanitarian crisis,” said PM Imran.
According to Imran, the US sanctions would cause anarchy in Afghanistan, and if the Taliban administration is weakened, global terror groups will once again find a launch pad.
Even during the US occupation, nearly half of Afghanistan’s people was poor, he said, adding that everyone, especially Europeans, should persuade the US that sanctions were not the best way to deal with the country.
Imran also discussed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), claiming that “suspicion regarding the CPEC and Gwadar port” exists for no apparent reason.
“Our tilt is towards geo-economy now,” he said, calling the CPEC a great opportunity for the country. “It is not even an exclusive project, everyone is welcome to join it,” he added.
When asked about India, he stated that Kashmir was the only issue between the two countries. “My first objective after coming to office was to normalise relations with India,” Imran stated, criticising the BJP government’s anti-Muslim posture.
“They would affect people of India much more than Pakistan and China,” the PM stated of the BJP’s policy toward minorities, particularly Muslims.
