Imran Khan: Modi govt's "aggressive" posture responsible for Indo-Pak stalemate

Cricketerturnedpolitician Imran Khan has said that ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif tried to improve the IndoPak relations but the aggressive antiPakistan posture of the Indian government resulted in the current stalemate between the two neighboursThe Pakistan TehreekiInsaf PTI chief whose party appears to be gaining ground ahead of the July 25 elections also said that the key to the Prime Minister House lies in understanding the countrys complex political realitiesSharif tried his best to mend relations with India Khan told the Dawn newspaper in an interviewSharif tried everything even personal gestures like calling him Narendra Modi over to his house No one got in his way But I think it is the policy of the Narendra Modi government to try and isolate Pakistan They have a very aggressive antiPakistan postureWhat can one do in the face of this attitude the 65yearold leader addedPrime Minister Modi visited Pakistan in December 2015 but the terror attacks by Pakistanbased militants in Pathankot in January 2016 and then in Uri in September strained the ties between the two countriesCommenting on the militarys influence in Pakistans foreign policy Khan said The army will get involved where there are security situations If you look at the US policy in Afghanistan a lot of the USAfghan policy was influenced by Pentagon Even when President Barack Obama did not want to continue the war in Afghanistan he did it because he was convinced by PentagonPakistans powerful military has always played a crucial role in the countrys politics The army has ruled Pakistan for more than 33 years of the countrys 70year historyWe have had military influence on politics in Pakistan because we have had the worst political governments I am not saying it is justified but where there is a vacuum something will fill it he saidKhan said that under crooked and corrupt governments people welcome the military with open arms and cited the example of a bloodless coup by the then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999 when people celebrated the ouster of the Sharif government by the militaryTalking about the importance of manpower and financial resources for a successful election campaign Khan said This is not Europe where all you need to do is tell people what you stand for and they will go out and vote for you In Pakistan you need money and thousands of trained polling agents who can bring out people on the day of an election If you do not have those workers you cannot contest the electionThe PTI chief said though he is more more optimistic than have been in his 22 years in politics he cannot vouch for each of the near 700 national and provinciallevel candidates his party has fielded to contest the upcoming elections he is playing with what exists in Pakistans political classYou contest elections to win You dont contest elections to be a good boy I want to win I am fighting elections in Pakistan not Europe I cant import European politicians he saidCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever