Imran Khan’s ‘Endorsement’ Gives Oppn Ammo to attack Modi
WEB DESK
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he thinks there may be a better chance of peace talks with India if Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins the general election due to begin on April 11.
Mr. Khan said that if the next Indian government were led by the opposition Congress party, it might be too scared to seek a settlement with Pakistan over Kashmir, fearing a backlash from the right.
“Perhaps if the BJP — a right-wing party — wins, some kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached,” Mr. Khan told a small group of foreign journalists in an interview.
‘Muslim-ness is being attacked’
This was despite the massive alienation that Muslims in Kashmir and Muslims in general were facing in Modi’s India, said Mr. Khan. “I never thought I would see what is happening in India right now…Muslim-ness is being attacked.” Mr. Khan said Indian Muslims he knew who many years ago had been happy about their situation in India were now very worried by extreme Hindu nationalism.
Imran Khan’s ‘Endorsement’ Gives Oppn Ammo to attack Modi
The opposition parties jumped at the chance to mock the BJP on Wednesday after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he sees a better chance of peace talks with India if the Narendra Modi government gets a second term in power.
While PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said ‘Bhakts’ would be scratching their heads and wondering whether they should praise Imran Khan or not, NC leader Omar Abdullah asked how they would have reacted if the Pakistan PM had endorsed Rahul Gandhi as the next Prime Minister of India.
Taking to twitter, Abdullah asked “who is the tukde tukde gang now”, using the refrain commonly adopted by the BJP leaders in relation to Congress, insinuating that it wants to divide India with its policies.
Leaders from the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Jammu and Kashmir politicians Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti seized the chance to get back at the PM and the ruling party.
“So much for Modi Sahib telling the country only Pakistan & its sympathisers want BJP to lose. Imran Khan has just endorsed him for a 2nd term – BJP election win will boost chances of Pak-India talks,” he tweeted, quoting the Reuters report.
The Congress, which has been on the receiving end of statements like it supports “anti-nationals”, said that a vote for Modi is a vote for Pakistan. “Pakistan has officially allied with Modi,” party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted.