‘Pakistan can be partners in peace with US but never in conflict’: PM Imran Khan

Speaking at the budget session of the National Assembly (NA), Prime Minister Imran Khan once again reiterated, “Pakistan could be partners with the United States in peace but never in conflict.”

PM gave his speech the day after the government smoothly passed Finance Bill 2021-22.

The premier further added, “When we gave so many services, did they (US) praise us or acknowledge our sacrifices? Instead, they called us a hypocrite and blamed us. Instead of appreciating us, Pakistan was bad-mouthed.”

“I have never felt more insulted than when Pakistan decided to join the US war on terror. We decided to become a frontline state for the American war on terror. I questioned repeatedly: what did we have to do with the war?”

“Does any country get involved in another’s [war] and lose 70,000 lives?” he asked. “What they (US) said, we kept doing. Musharraf said in his book that he took the money [from the US] and sent people to Guantanamo.”

The premier termed it as the “darkest period of our history” when Pakistan did not know which was a friendly country and which was not. “Have you heard of a friendly country carrying out attacks and drone strikes in your country?”

In an apparent reference to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain, PM asked: “A terrorist is sitting in London for 30 years. Will they give us permission to attack him? If they will not give permission then why did we? Are we subhuman or half-human or do our lives not have enough value?”

The prime minister said that in a meeting of the US Senate, an American commander had claimed that the Pakistan government did “not tell the truth” to its citizens. “We disrespected ourselves, the world did not disrespect us.”

He said that overseas Pakistanis had to hide their faces after the raid by US Navy Seals in Abbottabad in which Osama Bin Laden was killed because “our ally did not trust us enough to carry out the attack”.

The premier warned that a “very tough time” was coming for Pakistan in view of the situation in Afghanistan. He said he was thankful that the US had recognised there was no military solution to the conflict in the neighbouring country but it should have done so earlier.

“Afghanistan has never accepted interference from outside. If we were proactive and a self-respecting government, stood up and said [the US] is wrong, then we would have protected them (Afghans).”

The premier clarified that Pakistan did not want to have favourites or choose sides, insisting “whoever Afghan people choose, we are with them”.

PM Khan invited the Opposition to work with the government on election reforms. “After 1970, all elections have been controversial,” he said.

PM Khan said the recently held by-polls and Senate elections were made controversial as well.

He said the government had been considering ways to make the elections acceptable to all the parties, and reminded the Opposition that election reforms would benefit democracy.

“The time has come to make the country’s elections acceptable to everyone,” he said.

He recalled that when he wanted to give a speech in parliament after being elected prime minister, the Opposition refused to allow him to speak claiming that the election had been rigged. “When Trump claimed the same, the media asked him to give proof.”

“We did the same in 2013. We had asked the then government to hold recounting in four constituencies. We had to approach the court and as a result in all four constituencies, rigging was proved.”

“After trying our best, we came to the conclusion that EVMs (electronic voting machines) are the only solution,” he said.

The premier said his government was “ready to listen” if the Opposition had any other “advice” regarding the electoral reforms.

The premier said if the country steps back from this aim, then there would be “no justification for Pakistan’s existence”.

PM Imran Khan said that the budget reflected the PTI’s three core principles — justice, humanity, and self-sufficiency and praised his financial team for ensuring the budget embodies all three.

He said that when the PTI government came to power, the country’s biggest problem was the current account deficit. “[Pakistan] had the biggest deficit in history, which means our currency was in danger. Our team was new and we had no experience … We took many difficult steps to stabilise our economy which were painful.”

The premier thanked countries like the UAE, Saudia Arabia, and China for “protecting us from defaulting”.

The premier lauded National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) chief Asad Umar and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, the Pakistan Army, and others involved in curbing the spread of coronavirus.

“The Opposition attacked us, we were criticised for two months for no lockdowns,” he recalled.

PM Imran Khan said Pakistan’s coronavirus situation was better as compared to countries in the region and it was “due to Allah’s blessings and the poor people’s prayers”.

He cited the government’s “protection” of agriculture as well as record crop production for the 3.9 per cent economic growth rate in fiscal year (FY)22.

“We incentivised export industry and it grew 17 per cent in one year. Our exports in June were $2.7 billion, which is an all-time record for the month in Pakistan,” added PM Khan.

“We held negotiations with the construction industry and tried to give them incentives because when [that industry] starts running, then 30 related industries also start running,” he added.

Pakistan was moving towards becoming an Islamic welfare state for the first time, said PM Khan.

“By next month, we will have data on all income levels of families and according to that, the lowest 40-50pc families will be brought under the [government’s social welfare] programme. We have dedicated Rs500bn for them,” he said, disclosing that it would include interest-free loans, health cards, technical education, low-cost housing, and scholarships.

A day earlier, the National Assembly had passed the budget for the fiscal year 2021-2022, with a majority vote amid a dismal showing by the Opposition.

PM gave his speech the day after the government smoothly passed Finance Bill 2021-22.

The premier further added, “When we gave so many services, did they (US) praise us or acknowledge our sacrifices? Instead, they called us a hypocrite and blamed us. Instead of appreciating us, Pakistan was bad-mouthed.”

“I have never felt more insulted than when Pakistan decided to join the United States war on terror. “We decided to become a front line state for the American war on terror. I questioned repeatedly, what did we have to do with the war?” said PM Khan.

“Does any country get involved in another’s [war] and lose 70,000 lives?” he asked. “What they (US) said, we kept doing. [Former president Pervez] Musharraf said in his book that he took money and sent people to Guantanamo [Bay jail].

The premier termed it as the “darkest period of our history” when Pakistan did not know which was a friendly country and which was not. “Have you heard a friendly country doing attacks and drone strikes in your country?” he asked.

“A terrorist is sitting in London since 30 years. Will they give us permission to attack him?” he questioned in an apparent reference to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain.

“If they will not give permission then why did we? Are we subhuman or half human or do our lives not have enough value?” he said angrily.

The prime minister said that in a meeting of the US Senate, an American commander had claimed that the Pakistan government did “not tell the truth” to its citizens. “We disrespected ourselves, the world did not disrespect us.”

He said that overseas Pakistanis hid their faces after the raid by US Navy Seals in Abbottabad in which Osama Bin Laden was killed because “our ally did not trust us enough to carry out the attack.”

The premier warned that a “very tough time” was coming for Pakistan in view of the situation in Afghanistan. He said he was thankful that the US had recognised there was no military solution to the conflict in the neighbouring country but it should have done so earlier.

“Afghanistan has never accepted interference from outside. If we were proactive and a self-respecting government stood up and said [the US] is wrong, then we would have protected them (Afghans).”

The premier clarified that Pakistan did not want to have favourites or choose sides, insisting “whoever Afghan people choose, we are with them.”

PM Khan invited the Opposition to work with the government on election reforms. “After 1970, all elections have been controversial,” he said.

PM Khan said the recently held by-polls and Senate elections were made controversial as well.

He said the government had been considering ways to make the elections acceptable to all the parties, and reminded the Opposition that election reforms would benefit democracy.

“The time has come to make the country’s elections acceptable to everyone,” he said.

He recalled that when he wanted to give a speech in parliament after being elected prime minister, the opposition refused to allow him to speak claiming that the election had been rigged, adding, “When [former United States president Donald] Trump claimed the same, the media asked him to give proof.”

“We did the same in 2013. We had asked the then government to hold recounting in four constituencies,we had to approach the court and as a result in all four, rigging was proved.

“After trying our best, we came to the conclusion that EVMs (electronic voting machines) are the only solution,” he said.

The premier said his government was “ready to listen” if the opposition had any other “advice” regarding the reforms.

The premier said if the country steps back from this aim, then there would be “no justification for Pakistan’s existence”.

PM Imran Khan said that the budget reflected the PTI’s three core principles — justice, humanity, and self-sufficiency and praised his financial team for ensuring the budget embodies all three.

He said that when the PTI government came to power, the country’s biggest problem was the current account deficit. “[Pakistan] had the biggest deficit in history which means our currency was in danger. Our team was new and we had no experience … We took many difficult steps to stabilise our economy which were painful.”

The premier thanked countries like UAE, Saudia Arabia and China for “protecting us from defaulting”.

 The premier lauded National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) chief Asad Umar and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, the Pakistan Army, and others involved in curbing the spread of coronavirus.

“The opposition attacked us, we were criticised for two months for no lock downs,” he recalled.

PM Imran Khan said Pakistan’s coronavirus situation was better as compared to countries in the region and it was “due to Allah’s blessings and the poor people’s prayers”.

He cited the government’s “protection” of agriculture as well as record crop production for the 3.9 per cent economic growth rate in fiscal year (FY)22.

“We incentivised export industry and it grew 17 per cent in one year. Our exports in June were $2.7 billion which is an all time record for the month in Pakistan,” added PM Khan.

“We held negotiations with the construction industry and tried to give them incentives because when [that industry] starts running, then 30 related industries also start,” he added.

Pakistan was moving towards becoming an Islamic welfare state for the first time, said PM Khan.

“By next month, we will have data on all income levels of families and according to that, the lowest 40-50pc families will be brought under the [government’s social welfare] programme. We have dedicated Rs500bn for them,” he said, disclosing that it would include interest-free loans, health cards, technical education, low-cost housing and scholarships.

A day earlier, the National Assembly had passed the budget for the fiscal year 2021-2022, with majority vote amid a dismal showing by the Opposition.