Foreign aid is a curse, says PM Imran Khan
Prime Minister Imran Khan has called foreign aid a ‘curse’, adding that Pakistan will not play “camp politics” since it wants to have trade ties with all other countries to get its people out of poverty.
Speaking in an interview with Russian RT TV, the premier said Pakistan should have left the US camp after a decade or so and pursued an independent policy.
“Aid stops a country from evolving and developing and becoming self-reliant,” he said, adding that the reliance on hand-outs stops a country from becoming independent.
Imran Khan spoke on various other issues as well including:
Relationship between Islamabad and Moscow
- Trade ties with neighbors
- The Ukraine-Russia conflict
- Money laundering
- Kashmir issue
- The climate change
- Russian gas pipeline
Trade Ties with Neighbors:
PM Imran said Pakistan wanted trade relations with all countries, including its neighbors. He said that in the past India-Pakistan trade was not possible because of the aggressive attitude of the former. About trade ties with Iran and Afghanistan, Khan said it could not be established due to sanctions and a decades-long conflict, respectively.
“Similarly, Pakistan could not establish trade relations with the Central Asian States because of its proximity to the US and theirs to the Soviet Union,” said the PM. “What we want now is to trade with everyone,” he said, elaborating that Pakistan will not join any camp as trade is the priority of Islamabad for the sake of its own people
Ukraine-Russia Conflict
Imran Khan said he was looking forward to a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine-Russia crisis, adding that he was not of the opinion to use military power to resolve any conflict.
“If we read reports in the western media there is an imminent war between Russia and Ukraine…on the cards. And clearly, western countries take a very critical position, I would even say inimical view to Russia,” claimed Imran. “I believe civilized societies resolve their difference through dialogues,” he added.
Russian gas pipeline project
About the gas pipeline project with Russia amid the threat of sanctions by the United States, Khan said the project mainly suffered because the key companies were sanctioned by the US, adding that finding a Russian company that was not sanctioned by the US has become a problem. “Pakistan could also get gas from Iran but it cannot since there were the US sanctions on that country,” said the PM.
Money laundering and Kashmir Issue
Talking about the filtration of unlawful money by the ruling elites of developing countries, Khan said that the global powers should make laws to curb the illegal flow of money from the developing world just like they have legislated to curb terror financing and drug money.
Speaking about Kashmir, he said he reached out to India in 2018 to resolve the Kashmir issue. “I told them our only issue is Kashmir. Let’s sit down at [the] table and resolve it,” Imran said, adding that he knew “India better than most people”.
Conversely, India has taken a “mad” and “racist” approach inspired by the Nazis, the premier said, adding that the founding fathers of the ruling party in India were inspired by the Nazi ideology.