Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said a “powerful country” is angry with Pakistan because of his recent visit to Russia.

Addressing the Islamabad Security Dialogue, the premier said that the “powerful country” is supporting its ally, India. “Today, I read the statement of the British Foreign Secretary that mentioned that they cannot say anything to India as it is an independent state – I don’t blame them for this support, this is our mistake,” he said.

Terming an independent foreign policy crucial for the country, he said the reason why Pakistan could not touch its peak potential was its ‘dependency syndrome’ on other powerful nations. “A country without an independent foreign policy remains unable to secure the interests of its people,” he said.

The two-day event gathered intelligentsia from across the country besides representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, China, Russian and European Union.

PM Imran Khan said taking independent decision while keeping high the interests of nation was extremely important rather than submitting to the will of other countries in exchange of foreign aid. He said a nation could not progress until it kept thinking that it could not survive without foreign aid and criticized the decisions of previous governments for joining the wars, namely the Afghan Jihad and the post 9/11 war on terror.

“These decisions, that incurred major damage to Pakistan, were made for the sake of dollars,” he said.

He pointed out that such detrimental policies resulted in sectarian militancy that disrupted the environment of investment, and promoted drug rackets and black money in the country.

He regretted that no independent evaluation was made after wards to assess the damage suffered by the Pakistani society, and said “the elite filled up their bank accounts at the cost of the nation”.

Imran Khan said his government during four years pursued an independent foreign policy that helped the country gain respect in global arena. “How come a country can interfere into the affairs of an independent State,” he said. “But not to blame them, as it is our fault because we gave them this impression”.

He said for its own interest, Pakistan’s elite threw the nation to altar and put its self-respect at stake.

Imran Khan said national security was a multidimensional phenomenon and could be ensured when the State and nation got united at single vision and ideology.

He said his government firmly believed that there was a symbiotic relationship between economic, human, and traditional security which was imperative for Pakistan’s long-term development.

He said domestic stability and regional peace based on mutual co-existence, regional connectivity, and shared prosperity were essential prerequisites to optimising national security.

Taking a jibe at the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, he said: “Those who are preparing to get to the Prime Minister’s Office are giving interviews that my statements will piss off America and Pakistan cannot survive without its support.” He further accused the Opposition, saying that these leaders have sacrificed Pakistan’s economy and humiliated the country in the world because of their benefits.

Addressing the ongoing controversy regarding the “threat letter”, apparently sent by the US, the premier said that an honourable person is always respected, questioning if a country can threaten another country.” On Thursday, talking about the “threatening memo” that the PM claimed to have received against his government from a foreign country, he named the United States to be behind the conspiracy. In an apparent slip of the tongue, he named “the United States…” but quickly moved on and stated that “a foreign country” had sent a “threatening memo” which was against the Pakistani nation.