Says Indian minorities deemed as second-class citizens due to RSS ideology
\n ISLAMABAD
\nPrime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan does not want to take any sides in the US-China \u2018cold war\u2019 but instead wants to reduce the growing tensions between the two.
\nAddressing the Islamabad Conclave 2021 on Thursday, which was themed \u2018A Peaceful and Prosperous South Asia\u2019, PM Imran stated that \u201cdeteriorating US-China relations, which are heading towards a cold war-like situation, is something Pakistan needs to stop.\u201d
\n\u201cWe should not be in any bloc,\u201d he maintained, recalling the previous Cold War, where joining a bloc was not beneficial for Pakistan.
\nThe premier\u2019s remarks come a day after Islamabad decided to skip the summit on democracy being convened by US President Joe Biden on December 9 and 10.
\nThe Biden administration has invited leaders from over 100 countries. Pakistan was among only four countries from South Asia that were invited to the summit. Others include India, Maldives and Nepal.
\nChina and Russia were excluded from the invitees while Taiwan was extended the invitation, drawing a strong reaction from Beijing.
\nAddressing the conclave, the PM said that Pakistan played a \u201cbig role\u201d in bringing Iran and Saudi Arabia together and wants to reduce the growing tensions between US and China as well. \u201cPakistan wants to hold talks with America and China as we did during the 1970s,\u201d he stated.
\nWhile there has always been competition between countries for trade, Pakistan does not want the current situation to escalate to the level witnessed in the first Cold War, warned the premier.
\nTalking about the prevalent Afghan crisis, the PM delineated that the situation could have been \u201cmuch worse had a civil war broken out.\u201d He claimed that Pakistan was \u201cfortunate\u201d that the destruction did not occur on a large scale but reiterated that the destruction Afghans must be saved from was the looming humanitarian crisis due to their \u201creserves and assets\u201d being frozen.
\n\u201cWe are trying our best to inform the world that in spite of their like or dislike for the Taliban, the primary concern should be the 40 million Afghans, and what they will have to undergo if the current situation persists,\u201d the premier remarked.
\nPeace in the war-torn country, he emphasised, was important for Pakistan, especially in light of this country\u2019s geo-economics goal. \u201cAll central Asian republics wish to have interconnectivity with Pakistan and trade through Gwadar. Peace in Afghanistan is very important for connectivity,\u201d he said.
\nThe premier also highlighted that South Asia was held \u201chostage\u201d by the Kashmir issue. He claimed that his government \u201ctried very hard\u201d to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi but to no avail.
\n\u201cI slowly realised that he [Modi] thought our efforts for peace were a sign of weakness,\u201d he said, adding that Islamabad was trying to negotiate with the RSS ideology and not an \u2018ordinary\u2019 Indian government. He further said that this ideology was not just the misfortune of Pakistan and Kashmiris, but also of Indian minorities who are excluded by the \u201cBrahmin RSS ideology\u201d.
\n\u201cNever in human history has such a large chunk of the population been deemed as second-class citizens,\u201d he said, adding that the ideology will create severe repercussions for the Indian society.
\nThe premier maintained that his government was the first to flag climate change when it planned the One Billion Tree Tsunami project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. \u201cWe knew 20 years ago that this was a threat when no one had perceived it,\u201d he said, adding that Pakistan was one of the top 10 countries which were most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
\nHe further stated that India too was susceptible to climate change, especially as most of their water came from the Himalayan glaciers, which were rapidly melting. \u201cHalf our water comes from the Karakoram and Suliman mountain ranges, but the majority of India\u2019s water comes from the Himalayas\u201d.
\nHe reiterated that \u201cour futures\u201d were connected and climate change needed to be combatted together. \u201cBut I have not seen seriousness in world leaders because their commercial interests clash with the steps necessary to curb climate change,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cPakistan is trying its best to combat climate change and is being appreciated globally. However, regions are connected and develop together,\u201d he said, adding that he prays the Indian government will logically talk to Pakistan in this regard. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Says Indian minorities deemed as second-class citizens due to RSS ideology ISLAMABAD Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan does not want to take any sides in the US-China \u2018cold war\u2019 but instead wants to reduce the growing tensions between the two. Addressing the Islamabad Conclave 2021 on Thursday, which was themed \u2018A Peaceful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[18,20,444],"class_list":{"0":"post-231942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-china","9":"tag-pakistan","10":"tag-us"},"yoast_head":"\n