PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan on Monday said that Pakistan should have right relations with the U.S. –“we shouldn’t be used”, there should be a bond of “integrity” with every country, not one of “enmity” but a “dignified relationship.”
He made these remarks in an interview with journalist Kamran Khan on Dunya News.
In response to a question regarding his relationship with the United States, Imran said that he wanted a bond of “integrity” with every country, not one of enmity.
He said that he was in contact with US think tanks and had a meeting with Robin Raphel — former U.S. ambassador to Tunisia — because “I knew her from before”.
The PTI chief said that Pakistan should have “right relations” with the U.S.“ I just say we shouldn’t be used, we don’t want enmity, but a dignified relationship.
“We have to decide if we want to lead a dignified life or lay down in front of them like beggars,” he added.
Regarding holding talks with the coalition government (led by the PML-N), Imran said: “The country is facing extraordinary circumstances […] in this time we need to think about what decisions to take.”
He said his life and death were in Pakistan, hence, his interest was in the country’s improvement. “I’m always ready to talk if they want to talk about free and fair elections.” More here.
Imran said he is ready for negotiations with the government on any matter “but you should decide first whether you want stability in the country or not”.
“Pakistan is moving towards default which is a very serious matter and an even bigger threat test than floods,” he remarked.
Imran reiterated that he had warned the ‘powerful quarters’ that the economy would go in tailspin if his government was toppled through a foreign conspiracy.
The former prime minister said whichever party comes into power after free and fair general elections should appoint a new army chief, indirectly proposing a brief extension in the tenure of incumbent Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. More here.
Honorary contributors to DesPardes: Adil Khan, Ajaz Ahmed, Ammar Jafri, Anwar Abbas, Arif Mirza, Aziz Ahmed, Bawar Tawfik, Dr. Razzak Ladha, Dr. Syed M. Ali, G. R. Baloch, Hasham Saddique, Jamil Usman, Jawed Ahmed, Ishaq Saqi, Khalid Sharif, Majid Ahmed, Masroor Ali, Md. Ahmed, Md. Najibullah, Mustafa Jivanjee, Nusrat Jamshed, Shahbaz Ali, Shahid Hamza, Shahid Nayeem, Syed Hamza Gilani, Syed Hasan Javed, Syed M. Ali, Tahir Sohail
