London: Pakistan should guarantee that it
will not allow any terrorists to operate against India from
its soil and India should reciprocate by demilitarising
Kashmir to normalise ties, cricketer-turned politician Imran
Khan said on Thursday.
"Dialogue between the two countries is the only way out
and if Pakistan gives a guarantee that it will not allow any
militants to operate from its soil against India and India
demilitarises its forces from Kashmir they could help
normalise bilateral relations," Khan, leader of Pakistan's
Tehrik-i-Insaf party told the Indian Journalists Association
at Bentley Hotel here.
Observing that Pakistan has reached a "cross road" Imran
Khan said "we have to completely change ourselves and reinvent
ourselves for our own survival".
He said he was disappointed with his recent meeting with
India's Home Minister P Chidambaram.
"Your Home Minister feels the only way to tackle
terrorism is to treat the symptom but it is not working. You
have to win over the people and isolate terrorists. It is a
battle for hearts and minds."
He wanted Pakistan to immediately "disengage itself from
the US war on terror. We don't need any aid from the USA."
Imran said the USD 20 billion US aid to Pakistan (since
the war on terror commenced a decade ago) has not caused any
prosperity to it.Instead, the war has resulted in USD 70
billion loss, death of 35,000 and internal displacement of
another 3.5 million people.
Khan said once the aid is stopped, Pakistan could balance
its budget by raising taxes.
On the Kashmir issue, he said it should be settled
through dialogue and after taking into consideration the
wishes of the people of the state.
"India blames the ISI for every terrorist attack on it
and Pakistan accuses India of supporting the liberation
movement in Baluchistan through its missions in Afghanistan.
If the two countries normalise their relations through
dialogue, it would lead to much greater prosperity in the
region."
Khan said the US should immediately stop its drone
attacks on the people in the tribal area of Waziristan.
"There are 1 million armed men there and everyone is a
warrior. It is impossible to conquer them. On the other hand
the tribal people are totally democratic.
Answering a question on the terror attack on Mumbai, he
avoided a direct answer but said: "If you get the criminals,
the law should take its own course."
PTI
First Published: Thursday, September 22, 2011, 23:32