India has Lost the battle of hearts and minds in Kashmir: Imran Khan

11 years ago | Posted in: Latest Politics News | 670 Views

The leader of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaaf Imran Khan has said Indian troops are losing battle of heart and minds in Kashmir and there is possibility of Mumbai-like attacks till the Kashmir issue is resolved.

“India is using troops in Kashmir. They are losing the battle of heart and minds. It’s like treating cancer with dispirin,” Imran told Delhi-based newspaper, Mail Today.

He said there could be no military solution of Kashmir and fancied himself to take the peace initiative. “It can be resolved. I will work on a road map by making people from India, Pakistan and Kashmiris look for a solution by sitting on a table.”

He stressed the need for a strong leadership in India and Pakistan to take on vested interests “who want to make money on the conflict”. He said young people were tired of the continuing hostility between the two countries.

Meanwhile, addressing a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting, here, Imran said while improvement in bilateral trade was welcome, the issue of Jammu and Kashmir must also progress on a parallel line.

“Because unless we operate on both plains, there is always a possibility, as it happened, relationships were improving, confidence building measures, cricket matches, people-to-people contacts, and then came Mumbai,” he said.

Stressing the need for a new relationship, the former Pakistan cricket capital said the problems should not be solved through militancy and military but through politics. “It should be two-pronged. One to normalise, open up relationships with trade on one side and then start a dialogue on Kashmir.”

He said unless Kashmir issue was resolved, there was always a possibility” of Mumbai-like attacks. He noted that his party has three former Pakistani Foreign Ministers who have told him that they had “come pretty close to resolving” the Kashmir issue.

“The lack of trust was a basic problem in Indo-Pak relations which got worse after Mumbai attacks and added that efforts should be made to increase the trust factor. We need to have a new relationship. The moment we form the government, we will be able to control militancy and terrorism in our country. Only a strong government can say that ‘look we take responsibility for what happens from our soil’, whether it is with India or whether it is with the US,” Khan said.

Source: nation.com.pk

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