Is there any alternative to Taliban? PM Imran’s interview with CNN

Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday gave an important interview to an American television--CNN on Sunday and highlights the afghan crisis.

According to the 24News HD TV channel, talking to CNN, PM Imran questioned the international community whether there was an alternative to the Taliban government in Afghanistan at the moment.

PM Imran said the worst humanitarian crisis was emerging in Afghanistan and the survival of about 40 million Afghans is at stake.

The Prime Minister also said in the interview that about the next few months, everyone is worried for the Afghan people.

Earlier today, The prime minister, during an interaction with a number of former ambassadors and representatives of thinktanks in Islamabad on Sunday, maintained that the US was stuck in its domestic compulsions and that’s why it has a different view of the Afghan issue.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan and China have unanimity of views on the issue of Afghanistan but the United States has a different opinion, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Imran Khan, however, said the international community had a consensus over the issue of Afghanistan. “Europe and all the neighbouring states of Afghanistan agreed to avoid humanitarian crisis there and stressed upon defreezing of Afghan’s assets, the PM said, adding the US also understood and realized the situation. He further said all had a consensus that steps should be taken so that Afghanistan should not be descended into chaos.

To a question, Imran Khan said his recent visit to China and bilateral meetings with the Chinese leadership had added further impetus to the time-tested ties and would accelerate the pace of work on the ongoing projects of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The prime minister said that his recent visit to China was very relevant with regard to the fast-changing global political map. The Chinese leadership had appreciated his government’s steps to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, and the economic indicators which were positive, he said, adding they reaffirmed economic support to Pakistan through specific projects.

Imran Khan further opined that his visit further added strength to the ties between the two countries.

He said he held a meeting with President Xi Jinping after a period of two years since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. These bilateral meetings added further strength to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, he said while completely trashing an impression over the slow-paced work on these projects.

To a question, Imran Khan said that after the 18th Amendment issues had surfaced with regard to decision making and cited the difference in prices of wheat in Sindh and other provinces.

Referring to the functioning of the Chinese government, the prime minister said when a decision was taken, it was implemented, but in Pakistan, they lacked such synergy among the federal and provincial governments.

In China, he said, the whole country worked for the wealth creation, he said, adding all the hurdles in Special Economic Zones (SMEs) would be removed.

During the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese crowd warmly cheered the Pakistani contingent, reflecting how deeply rooted these ties had been between the two countries, he observed.

Responding to another question, Iman Khan said the strategic direction of his government was very clear. “They wanted to maintain relations with all and would not become a part of any camp,” he added.

During the last three and half years, the government had navigated from ‘the minefield’ of economic challenges, he said, adding due to the government’s prudent policies, the country was witnessing growth rate, record tax collections, revenue generation, and remittances which indicated that the country’s economy had been moving in the right direction.

To another query, he opined that unless you had a two-thirds majority in the parliament, you could not enact legislation to bring in various reforms in the society, stressing that there was a requirement for huge reforms. These pieces of legislation, sometimes, stuck up in the parliament or in the Senate, he maintained.

He said in China, they had meritocracy and rule of law, about 400 ministerial-level people had been held accountable over corruption charges which had increased the popularity of President Xi.

Imran Khan said the global pandemic had devastated the world. Different countries of the world including Italy, Spain and the UK opted for complete lockdowns, but he went against such precedent for which he was bitterly criticized by his political opponents, he added.

Imran said that he had questioned the logic of imposing the complete lockdown as it would have created problems for the lower segments of society. Defending his decision of smart lockdown, Imran Khan said in the US, Germany, and France, people had been on the roads against lockdowns. “We are ahead of everyone as we have not only saved our economy but also the lives,” he said, adding in India, the growth rate had been in the minus.

To a query, he replied that he had met Russian President Putin in Bishkek. After his tweet about the negative use of freedom of speech to hurt Muslims’ feelings, they held a telephonic conversation in which the Russian president conveyed that there was no Islamophobia in Russia and a central mosque in Moscow was fully functional.