‘Not In Our Interest If Pakistan’s Territory Is Used For Terror’: Imran Khan Wants Talks After 2019 LS Elections

Marking 100 days of his government, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday (29 November) said that he was willing to wait till after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to hold talks with India, The New Indian Express has reported.

He also contended that it was in not in Pakistan’s interest to allow terror groups to operate from its territory.

The remarks follow External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s rejection on Wednesday (28 November) of any talks with Pakistan as long as the country continued with its policy of cross-border terror export.

"It is not in our interest to allow use of Pakistan's territory for terror outside," he told Indian journalists in Islamabad.

He added that there couldn’t be a military solution to the Kashmir issue, stating that the Pakistani people’s mindset towards India had changed. Khan recently laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor, which allows for Sikh pilgrims from India to travel freely through to Pakistan to visit the Darbar Sahib shrine in Pakistan.

"We are willing to wait for (general) elections to get over in India for a gesture from New Delhi," Khan said when questioned about the prospect of Indo-Pak talks.

But when pressed about the prospect of punishing Lashkar-e-toiba founder and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, Khan defended Pakistan’s inaction, arguing that through its sanctions, the UN had already clamped down on the terror chief.