Speaking to India TV's Editor-In-Chief Rajat Sharma in Aap Ki Adalat, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said Imran Khan was known as Taliban Khan by his old rivals. If Imran Khan is really against terrorism then he should welcome India's action against terrorists breeding on Pak soil, he added.
The statement by the Union minister came in response to Imran Khan claims that the Narendra Modi-government wants to fight war.
"At the onset, we should refresh our memory. Since the past many years, Imran Khan rivals in Pakistan have been addressing him as 'Taliban Khan', even though he has been a cricketer, a popular politician, before being elected as the prime minister of his country," Jaitley said.
Speaking on strategies being adopted by Pakistan, Jaitley said, "Pakistan lost conventional wars in 1967 and 1971. Then they sent their jawans to Kargil and they did not even collect their dead bodies from there."
"They brought a change in their strategies looking at the Indian growth. It was then that they decided to fight through terrorism and send terrorists inside the Indian boundaries to create a panicking environment."
Defending the Centre's strategy of Indian Air Force-led air strike in Pakistan, Jaitley said, "The strategy of India had always been confined to strengthening our security forces and Intelligence to defeat Pakistan, but it was pushed a step ahead by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he decided to uproot terrorism from where it is being allowed to breed."
"The massive camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad was destroyed by our Indian Air Force within seconds," the Union minister said.
"Before the surgical strike and air strike, the country feared that the world will accuse us of not keeping patience," Jaitley said.
The Union minister also talked of gaining support from the leading nations of the world and said, "Today, the world is supporting us over the air strike and surgical strikes. Even China's statement was neutral on the subject, which is an achievement for us."
On External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's visit to Abu Dhabi to attend the foreign ministers' meet of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation or OIC states, Jaitley said, "Organisation of Islamic nations, which sympathises with Pakistan, called upon EAM Sushma Swaraj as the chief guest, on which Pakistan refused to participate."
"The other countries, however, still went ahead with the idea of inviting Sushma ji, despite Pakistan's disagreement on the subject," the Union minister said.
"Even those nations did not question our act of teaching Pakistan a lesson," Jaitley added.
Explaining the air strike in Pakistan by the Indian Air Force, Union minister Arun Jaitley said, "The preemptive strike was an attempt to uproot terrorism, it was not against Pakistan. It was an act to protect our own country, in which none of the Pakistani civilians were injured."
On Imran Khan's claims of encouraging a war, Jaitley said, "The Pakistan prime minister could have termed it as an act to push for war had their civilians been injured in the IAF air strike."
'Aap Ki Adalat' with India TV Chairman and Editor-In-Chief Rajat Sharma was telecast on Saturday at 10 pm on India TV. Union Minister Arun Jaitley talked of surgical strike, IAF air strike in Pakistan and Rafale deal among other topics on the show.
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