Imran Khan says US made mistakes in Afghanistan & blamed Pakistan for its own shortcomings

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday lambasted the United States, stating that it “made mistakes in Afghanistan” during its presence for 20 long years and held Islamabad responsible for Washington's shortcomings, International The News reported citing a newspaper, Dawn. Speaking at the inaugural session of the annual Margalla Dialogue in Lahore, Pakistan's leader stressed that the United States botched up its ‘War on Terror (WoT)’ and Pakistan has to bear the brunt of the situation.

PM Imran Khan then accused the Western media of playing "a double game" in Afghanistan and instead of giving credit to Pakistan, maligned its reputation internationally. Further at the forum, Khan said that "Pakistan was held responsible for the shortcomings of the United States,” according to International The News. 

The Pakistan PM condemned the US for causing the biggest collateral damages for Islamabad, as he stressed that throughout the war in Afghanistan, as a “US ally” Pakistan suffered more than 80,000 casualties. He then added that millions of people were displaced and the country incurred a loss of over $100 billion, Pakistan’s Geo TV reported. "The inability of the national leadership to handle the Afghan situation wisely landed the country into two main pro and anti-America divisions," Pakistan PM told the forum. 

Pak PM slams India, says English language creates discrimination

Claiming that Pakistan was blamed for “wrong reasons” by the international community, Imran Khan launched a verbal attack on India. He accused the international community of ignoring atrocities committed by New Delhi in "the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK)". He then noted that uplifting the underprivileged was more crucial than ever to ensure across-the-board national security, adding that the rule of law and ‘equality’ for all were the preconditions for democracy. 

His remarks came just days after the shocking lynching of a Sri Lankan factory manager over committing blasphemy against Islam by the unruly Paksitani mob. The body of Priyantha Kumara, 48, a general manager at a Pakistani textile factory was set ablaze and the family of the deceased told the press that it was still struggling to make sense of the “inhumanity”. 

Khan also said that Pakistan had suffered inequality due to the English medium education. He noted that the educational systems of the English besides the Urdu medium schools and the madrassas had tattered his country’s democracy and created discrimination in opportunities for jobs. He then urged Pakistani scholars and academics to invest in research and development. “Define yourself instead of letting others define you,” he said at the forum, stressing on changing Pakistan’s perspective in the world and the critical role of the local think tanks in it.