After the forced resignation of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Sharif, the Opposition gets a whiff of wind. Her best-known representatives of Imran Khan spoke with DW about his view of the current internal and external situation.
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DW-exclusive interview with Imran Khan
Deutsche Welle: Are entitled to in the West expressed Worry about the democratic development of Pakistan after the dismissal of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif?
Imran Khan: These Worries are completely unjustified. Pakistan’s course is in the direction of democracy. The pillars of democracy are: transparency, accountable governance, free and fair elections, independence of the media and the judiciary. These pillars are strengthened in Pakistan currently. So far, kleptocracy rather than democracy prevailed in Pakistan. But things change for the Better.
For the first Time a Pakistani Prime Minister had to leave due to money laundering, corruption and forgery of documents. Some people have gained only way to Power to enrich themselves. Every time the military took control of the country, has cheered the people. But now, the military is silent. In my opinion, the democracy is strengthened as a result of the judgment of the constitutional court against Nawaz Sharif. Who you start his successor will think twice before he makes himself guilty of corruption offences.
Pakistan’s liberal circles, and even some commentators in the West speak to in connection with the dismissal of Sharif as a “coup by the judiciary.” There is also the accusation that you and your party (Tehreek-i-Insaf) had been used by the military to overthrow Sharif.
This is a joke. I don’t know anyone who calls himself a liberal, and with such moronic statements on the Plan. First of all, The army chief has been selected by Sharif personally. Secondly, Sharif had welcomed last December, the appointment of the Chief Justice (Supreme constitutional court) exuberant. Why would want to join these people, Sharif will crash with a “judicial coup”?
Even the British Prime Minister had to explain in front of the Parliament on the Emergence of his Name in the “Panama Papers”. We, the Pakistani opposition parties alike have demanded Sharif to explain his sources of income, since the company is Offshore, where luxury real estate in London. And how he managed the money out of the country? He could not answer the questions that were put to him by the two chambers of the constitutional court. Just as little could he explain the source of his income towards the joint inquiry Committee, which had been used by the constitutional court. He couldn’t and he lied to the court about the origin of his income. He presented fake documents. How can one speak of a “coup of the judiciary”?
Imran Khan was the captain of the Pakistan oaks national Cricket team
And that Pakistan has declared against the army chief twice in public that the army is to democracy and Constitution of Pakistan, there has not been even. So what these experts say is only Propaganda by Nawaz Sharif, has rods in his corruption scandals.
If you were Prime Minister of Pakistan: What kind of relationships you would seek to the US and the EU?
Pakistan should strive first and foremost to have good relations with its neighbors, with Iran, Afghanistan, India, and China. Then it should also make the effort to move closer to the West. We want good relations with China, as Pakistan’s wealth is dependent on China. Beijing is pumping through the Sino-Pakistani economic corridor in billions of US dollars in our country. Clearly, the EU and the United States main trading partners belong to Pakistan. And I would support friendly relations with them.
Their support for negotiations with the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban is criticized by many. You refuse to condemn the terrorist extremist groups, and instead make the American Intervention in Afghanistan responsible for this. You don’t really believe that the Pakistani military supported various Islamist groups in Afghanistan and Kashmir?
Narenda modi and Nawaz Sharif in may 2014
The only insinuations of people who do not understand the jihadi movements and the Taliban, and no idea of the events in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The military solution (in Afghanistan, Anm. d. Red.) is failed. The USA also does not want to negotiate with the Taliban, because they come with military means, despite the many billions of US dollars that you used for it.
These jihadi organizations were created by Pakistani military intelligence (ISI) and the American CIA, the Soviets in Afghanistan (in the 80s, Anm. d. Red.) to fight. When the Soviet Union broke apart and the USA had of stayed in Pakistan alone with these jihadist groups. After the attack of September 11. In September 2001, following continued Washington these jihadist groups suddenly and called them “terrorists” – the same people who had celebrated it before as a hero. Pakistan is in this war on Terror on the Front lines and suffered huge losses. We have lost 70,000 people in this war that was forced upon us. Pakistan should stay out of this war.
What kind of relations to India are you looking for? Any attempt by a Pakistani Prime Minister to improve relations with India, would lead to defensive reactions of the military, say observers.
This is nothing more than Propaganda! Earlier it might have been true once, but now, there is broad agreement in Pakistan’s population, and parties that there must be peace with India. Everyone knows that India is ruled by Narendra modi from a Hindu-nationalists. His only goal is to isolate Pakistan. In this way, we can conclude no peace. If anything, in India this happens, modes immediately to Pakistan the blame for the Chaos. He is not interested in a constructive peace process, but he sabotaged him. Also, his accusation that Pakistan stoked in Kashmir, the terrorism, goes into the Void. Rather, it is the modi government that is going on with brutal violence against a locally rooted movement. In contrast, the former Indian Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee, who came also from the right-wing BJP, always for peace.
The Interview was conducted by Shah Meer Baloch in Islamabad.
Imran Khan is a former Cricket Star and one of the most famous Pakistani opposition politicians. His party the Pakistan movement for justice (Tehreek-i-Insaf), which has in the Parliament, however, only about 33 out of 342 Seats. Khan is presented as a fighter against corruption and was always the sharpest opponents of the deposed Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, also in the Opposition.