Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has once again expressed his desire for peace talks with India, pointing out that war between the two nations would be suicidal for them.
Khan, in an interview with Turkish news agency TRT World, also accused India of not co-operating with his offer for peace talks.
“Two nuclear-armed countries should not even think of war; not even a Cold War because it could worsen any time. The only way is bilateral talks. Two nuclear-armed countries at war are like a suicide,” Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, quoted him as saying to the news agency.
“India was offered to take one step towards and we shall take two. But India rejected Pakistan’s offer for talks several times,” Khan said.
India previously said the country would be open to peace talks only if Pakistan stopped supporting militant groups. Talks and terrorism cannot go together, say India.
“Terror and talks can’t go together. The moment Pakistan stops terrorist activities in India, a dialogue can start,” India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said.
Pakistan denies supporting terrorist outfits.
In December 2018, Khan hit out at Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party calling it “anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan.”
“The ruling party [of India] has an anti-Muslim, anti-Pakistan approach,” said Khan in an interview with a top US daily. He also said India dismissed his suggestion of peace talks because of upcoming elections. “Let’s hope that after the election is over, we can again resume talks with India,” he said.
Khan also touched upon the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, saying he wants to resolve the case. “I have asked our government to find out the status of the case. Resolving that case is in our interest because it was an act of terrorism,” he told the Washington Post.
