Imran Khan evades question on Afghan conflict, blames RSS ideology for no talks with India
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday evaded a question on the Afghanistan conflict and went on to blame the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for no resumption of bilateral talks between India and Pakistan.
Responding to a question that 'can talks and terror go hand in hand', he said, "We want to talk to India but the ideology of RSS is coming in the between."
Taliban terrorists have taken control of one of the main border crossings with Pakistan, replacing the Afghan government’s flag with their own. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has issued a statement that the "fighters have captured an important border town called Wesh.” The crossing is the second most important on the border with Pakistan and a major source of revenue for the Afghan government.
Khan is leading a high level Pakistani delegation to Uzbekistan for a two-day trip.
Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country. Subsequent attacks on an Indian Army camp in Uri further deteriorated the relationship. Since then, India has not been having bilateral talks with Pakistan saying talks and terror cannot go hand-in-hand.
The relationship further dipped after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019, in response to the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. The ties hit rock bottom after India announced withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special powers and bifurcating the state into two union territories in August 2019. Since then, Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to rally international support against India on the Kashmir issue.
India has been maintaining that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility.
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