Daijiworld Media Network – Islamabad (AM)
Islamabad, Apr 10: Speaking to a small group of foreign journalists in an interview, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said that there may be a better chance of peace talks with India if Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The 2019 Lok Sabha polls are set to begin on Thursday, April 10.
The Pakistani PM said that if the next Indian government were led by the opposition Congress party, it might be too scared to seek a settlement with Pakistan over Kashmir, fearing a backlash from the right.
Imran Khan in the interview said that Indian Muslims he knew who many years ago had been happy about their situation in India were now very worried by extreme Hindu nationalism. He said Modi, like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was electioneering based on "fear and nationalist feeling".
“Kashmir was a political struggle and there was no military solution. Kashmiris suffer if armed militants from Pakistan came across the border, leading to Indian army crackdowns,” he said.
It may be recalled that the situation between India and Pakistan reached a crisis point in February after a suicide bombing killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir.
The bombing prompted India to carry out a cross border air strike against what it said was a militant training camp in Pakistan. Pakistan responded with air strikes of its own.
The rolling election is held in phases and does not finish until May 19. The result is not due until May 23.